What happens at an in-person visa appointment?

UK and US in-person appointments are held at the offices of the third-party contractors for the consular services.

Under-12s are generally not admitted, however, the London centre, for example, states there is an area for them in the premium lounge if you pay for this (£100).

You should bring your appointment notification form and application form and receipt, all supporting documents and your passport plus photocopies of these including key passport pages.

You will have to pay the visa fee when you visit.

The service will check the paperwork, scan in (or take) a photo of you and your fingerprints (not children under 12) and retain your passport and document copies to forward to the consulate.

This takes about 20 minutes – there is no in-depth ‘interview’.

It is then usually possible to track the progress of your application online. If there are queries or document requests, this will usually be made by email.

When the visa is ready options (variable by centre) include collecting your passport in person or having a courier delivery service at an extra fee.

Some centres allow another person to collect the passport for you if they bring your application printouts, their passport and a copy of it, a copy of your passport and an authorisation of proxy letter signed by you.

Example list of supporting documents for visa application 

Documents for a VLS-T visa de long-séjour temporaire or for a VLS-TS visiteur include: 

Your passport. This should have been issued less than 10 years ago, be valid for at least three months after the expiry date of the proposed visa and have at least two blank pages in it 

Two recent passport photographs.

A written promise not to carry out any work in France; also a letter explaining your plans, ie. the reason for visiting 

Evidence of your ‘socio-economic situation’ such as pension documents or work contract or certificate of study from an educational establishment.

A British-issued Ehic or Ghic for healthcare cover if you live in the UK. For Americans, private insurance is required with a minimum cover of €30,000 for urgent medical care and medical repatriation costs. This should be of a duration suitable to the trip, or for the first year in the case of a VLS-TS. 

Proof of accommodation arranged such as a rental contract for three months or more, or deeds, or a signed statement by a host confirming that they live in France and are inviting you to stay at their address. If you own a home, you could supply a copy of the attestation de vente that notaires supply on completion of a sale. If you no longer have one, you could ask your notaire to email one. 

An avis d’imposition for taxe foncière could help. If you are in the process of buying but have not completed, the compromis de vente pre-sale contract is enough. 

Proof of funds: Last three bank statements of current or savings accounts, with evidence of enough funds for your stay. If your partner will support you, you need to show a marriage or civil partnership certificate and bank statements from the partner. 

As a general rule, to move to France the amount requested is income at least equivalent to the minimum wage (€1,426 net in 2025) per month of stay or equivalent savings. Lower levels may be accepted for second-home owners as it is assumed they do not have to pay for accommodation. 

Levels accepted for couples are reported to be higher but usually not double. For temporary trips, you are meant to have €65/day in the case of a hotel (or similar) booking, €32.50 for staying in your own or a family/friend’s home, or otherwise €120/day. Once you have handed in your documents, you should wait to be informed that your passports are ready to collect or to be returned to you by courier.

Means and healthcare depend on circumstances

You must show a certain expected salary level for some kinds of work visa.

This may be expressed as salaire net or brut (net or gross).

The French convention is that ‘net’ salary is what is left in your pocket after all social charges (similar to UK national insurance) but before income tax.

Gross salary refers to the salary including the employee’s part of French social charges which will be deducted before receipt (but not the so-called employer’s part of the charges, known as charges patronales).

Healthcare

We outline the main scenarios below.

Workers will obtain this via their work social charges in France.

State pensioners of the UK can rely on the ‘S1’ form system whereby the UK pays their healthcare costs in France.

The UK’s NHS Business Services Authority has reconfirmed that it is possible to apply for an S1 up to three months before moving to France and to have it sent to a UK address so you can use it to support a visa application.

However, applicants must also supply a French address even if temporary. We note that, in any case, a French address is required for visa applications. See more.

Early retirees and most other foreign retirees, such as Americans, will usually be asked, when applying for a visa, to take out comprehensive private healthcare covering at least the first full year.

They can later apply to join the French system on the basis of settled residency with evidence of three months of living in France. It may be possible to find an insurance deal that allows for early cancellation if healthcare rights are processed efficiently.

People with substantial ‘capital’ income (more than an allowance of €23,550) will have to pay an annual charge to be part of the French system, for most others it is ‘free’.

The fee – subject to a maximum cap – is equal to 6.5% of income over the allowance amount.

Capital income refers to, for example, property income from rents and non-professional furnished letting, income from shares and bank accounts, capital gains from the sale of property, and certain other scenarios that bring in income but which are not directly linked to work.

Retirement pensions, declared as such in your French income tax declaration, are not concerned.

For more information on how health cover, and the French health service in general, works see our help guide to Healthcare in France.