If you hold a British Citizen passport, you do not need a visa to visit France for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. If you live in the UK on a Biometric Residence Permit but carry a passport from a visa-required country, or if you plan to stay in France longer than 90 days for any reason, you need to apply for a France visa from the UK through the France-Visas portal and a TLScontact appointment before you travel.1House of Commons Library. After Brexit: Visiting, Working, and Living in the EU
Who Needs a Visa
Three groups of UK-based travelers face three different answers.
British Citizens
British Citizen passport holders are visa-exempt for short stays. Under the Schengen Borders Code you can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day window on tourism, family visits, or business meetings that don’t count as employment.2European Commission. Visa Policy That allowance is shared across the whole Schengen area, not reset at each border. Two weeks in Italy followed by a month in Paris all draw from the same 90 days. Working, studying, or staying longer than 90 days requires a long-stay visa regardless of your British Citizen status.
Other British Nationality Types
British National (Overseas), British Overseas Territories Citizen, British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person, and British Subject passport holders are also visa-exempt for short stays under EU Regulation 2018/1806, and the same 90/180-day rule applies.3European Union. Regulation 2018/1806 – Annex II Border officers still have discretion to ask for proof of onward travel, accommodation, and sufficient funds, so carry the documentation anyway.
Non-British Nationals Living in the UK
A UK residence card does not exempt you from needing a Schengen visa for France. If your passport is from a visa-required country, you must apply through the French consular system before travel, whatever your immigration status in the UK. French authorities enforce this at Eurostar terminals and ferry crossings, and turning up without the right authorization can mean being refused boarding or turned back at the border. You can confirm whether your nationality requires a visa using the France-Visas wizard before starting an application.4France-Visas. Frequently Asked Questions
ETIAS Is Coming in Late 2026
A new pre-travel authorization called ETIAS is scheduled to begin operations in the last quarter of 2026.5European Union. Frequently Asked Questions – ETIAS Once it launches, every visa-exempt traveler heading to the Schengen area, including British Citizens, will need an approved ETIAS before departure. It is not a visa. It is a pre-screening system similar to the U.S. ESTA.
The application is entirely online and costs €20, with travelers under 18 or over 70 exempt from the fee but still required to apply. An approved ETIAS lasts three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.6European Union. What Is ETIAS If your France trip falls in late 2026 or after, check the official EU ETIAS site for the confirmed launch date.
Which Visa Applies to Your Trip
Short-Stay Schengen Visa (Type C)
The Schengen short-stay visa covers visits of up to 90 days for tourism, business negotiations, conferences, or short training programs. It operates under the EU Visa Code and is valid across the entire Schengen area, so a single French-issued visa lets you travel to other Schengen countries during the same trip.2European Commission. Visa Policy This is the visa most non-British UK residents will need for a holiday or short business trip.
Long-Stay National Visa (Type D)
Any stay in France exceeding 90 days requires a long-stay visa, whatever your nationality.7France-Visas. Long-Stay Visa The most common version is the VLS-TS (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour), which doubles as a residence permit for up to one year. Within three months of arriving in France you must validate the VLS-TS through the ANEF online portal, which has replaced the old in-person registration at immigration offices.8Service Public. Long-Stay Visa (Stay of More Than 3 Months to 1 Year) Miss that step and you risk losing your legal status.
The other long-stay route requires you to apply for a residence card at the local prefecture within two months of arrival. The France-Visas portal tells you which variant applies based on the purpose of your stay: work, study, or family reunification.
Talent Passport
France runs a multi-year Talent Passport visa for highly skilled workers, company founders, researchers, and artists. Salary thresholds for 2026 vary by category and adjust when the French minimum wage changes: roughly €39,582 for qualified employees, about €59,373 for the EU Blue Card route, and around €65,629 for executives and legal representatives of French companies. Confirm current figures on the France-Visas portal before applying.
Documents You’ll Need
The France-Visas portal generates a personalized checklist from your answers about nationality, residence, and trip purpose. Nearly every short-stay application needs the same core set.
Your passport must have been issued within the last ten years, remain valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure from the Schengen area, and contain at least two blank pages.9France-Visas. The Visa Application Process You also need two recent passport photographs meeting ICAO standards, proof of your UK residence such as a Biometric Residence Permit, a detailed travel itinerary, and confirmed accommodation.
Proof of Funds
France sets daily minimums for financial sufficiency. With a hotel reservation, the threshold is €65 per day. Staying with a private individual and able to prove the arrangement drops it to about €32 per day. Without any prepaid accommodation, the requirement rises to €120 per day. Bank statements covering the last three months are the standard evidence.
Travel Medical Insurance
The EU Visa Code requires all short-stay visa applicants to carry travel medical insurance of at least €30,000. The policy must cover emergency hospital treatment, urgent medical care, and repatriation, and must be valid across the entire Schengen area for your full trip.10European Union. Regulation EC 810/2009 – EU Visa Code – Article 15
Translation of Supporting Documents
Supporting documents in English may need a certified French translation. Consulates can reject untranslated documents, which delays or defeats an application. The UK does not have officially sworn translators the way France does, so the standard practice is a professional translation paired with a signed certificate of accuracy from the translator. Machine translations are never accepted. Some documents, bank statements among them, may be accepted in English depending on the consulate, so check your specific requirements on the portal.
Fees
The Schengen short-stay visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged six to eleven, following an increase that took effect on 11 June 2024.11European Commission. Schengen Visa Fee Increased as of 11 June 2024 Children under six are exempt, as are spouses of French nationals and certain other categories.12France-Visas. Visa Fees
On top of the visa fee, the external service provider charges a processing fee capped at €45 per application. In the UK, TLScontact handles most France visa appointments and their standard fee runs around £35. Premium slots at early-morning or weekend times cost more. Budget separately for courier delivery if you want your passport posted back rather than collecting it in person.
How to Apply
The process runs in five stages, and getting them out of order is one of the fastest ways to delay a trip.
- Use the France-Visas wizard to confirm whether you need a visa, which type, and what documents to gather.
- Create an account on the France-Visas portal and complete the application online. The system produces a registration receipt and a completed PDF form (the CERFA) that you must print and bring to your appointment.9France-Visas. The Visa Application Process
- Book an in-person appointment at a TLScontact center in the UK. Popular slots go weeks in advance, so build in lead time.
- Attend the appointment with your printed CERFA, receipt, and all original documents plus copies. If you are over 12 and it is your first Schengen application (or your biometrics are more than 59 months old), you provide ten fingerprints and a photograph at this appointment.
- Track the decision online using the reference number from your appointment. You will be notified by email or text when the outcome is ready.
When your passport comes back, check the visa sticker before you leave the collection point. Verify the dates, name spelling, number of permitted entries, and the territory covered. Any error needs to go back to the consulate before you travel; sorting it out at the border is a losing proposition.
Processing Times
The standard decision window is 15 calendar days from submission. Cases needing extra scrutiny can stretch to 45 days. If you receive no response within two months, French law treats that silence as an implicit refusal. Summer and other peak periods push processing toward the longer end. Apply well before your planned travel dates.
If Your Visa Is Refused
A refusal comes with written reasons, and you have two routes to challenge it. The first is an informal appeal directly to the French Consul who issued the refusal, essentially a request to reconsider, often supported by additional documents or clarification. If that fails or goes unanswered, you can escalate to the Commission de Recours contre les Décisions de Refus de Visa d’entrée en France (CRRV), the formal review body for visa refusals. A CRRV appeal must be filed within 30 days of the refusal, sent by post to Nantes, and written in French. Most disputes resolve at the informal or CRRV stage, particularly where the original refusal was based on missing documents that can be supplied.
What Overstaying Costs You
Overstaying in France or anywhere else in the Schengen area has consequences that follow you for years. French authorities can impose fines, and overstayers face entry bans running from one to five years depending on the length of the violation and whether it is a first offense. Short accidental overstays of a few days may result in a warning or a one-year ban. Overstays lasting weeks or months usually trigger bans of one to three years, and serious or repeat violations can bring bans up to five years along with potential criminal proceedings.
These bans are recorded in the Schengen Information System, a shared database used by border and police authorities across the Schengen area.13European Commission. Schengen Information System A ban from an overstay in France blocks entry to any Schengen country for its duration and surfaces in future visa applications anywhere in the zone, making approvals harder even after it expires. The 90/180-day rule is unforgiving in how it is calculated, so use an online Schengen day calculator to track your remaining days if you take multiple trips.