The type of visa you need to visit France depends upon your nationality and your length of stay. France allows citizens of many countries to visit without a tourist visa for 3 months. If you need a Schengen or long-stay visa to enter France, then you must make an appointment with your local French consulate and provide the appropriate documents.
If your native country is part of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), then you do not need a tourist visa to France for any length of time.
You will not need a 3-month tourist visa if you hold a passport from one of the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.
If your country is not listed, then you will most likely need to apply for a 3-month Schengen visa to visit France. The Schengen visa is based on an agreement between 25 European countries that allows tourists to enter 1 of the 25 countries and go between other Schengen countries without showing their passport.
If you need to stay longer than 3 months, apply for a long-term stay visa. This is required for any nationality outside of the EU and EEA. Most often, the applicants for long-stay visas are applying to work, study or attend a family reunion.
Make an appointment at your region's French consulate. This appointment should be 1 to 3 months before your departure, but after you have bought your plane tickets and made travel arrangements. Your visa may not be accepted if you plan to depart less than 3 weeks after your appointment.
Documents needed:
You will wait approximately 2 to 3 weeks to receive a short-term visa.
Warning: There are a number of private companies who submit your Schengen visa for you. You do not need to use a company or pay for an application in order to get a Schengen visa.