How you can Apply for a France Schengen Visa for Vacationers (2023 PH)

(France Schengen Visa)
UPDATE 2022: As of August, France has abolished COVID entry formalities, which means that you simply NO longer have to current a well being cross to enter the nation or a COVID antigen check. For more information, see right here.

If somebody thinks of Europe, it’s fairly widespread to have France’s Paris as their top-of-mind vacation spot — most particularly if they’re first-time vacationers to the continent. Nevertheless, it helps to notice that there’s extra to the nation other than this famed metropolis!

As an illustration, there may be the Bordeaux area for wine-lovers, the French Riviera for a style of the Mediterranean coast, the Loire Valley for its beautiful array of chateaux castles, the Provence area for its vibrant lavender fields, and a lot extra.

So in case you are seeking to go to France and discover its wonders, it’s a should to endure a French visa utility; and fortunately sufficient, the method is simple and streamlined particularly now that it’s coursed by way of VFS France. The truth is, for my first utility by way of the French Embassy, they’ve granted me a 1-year multiple-entry visa!

If you happen to’re curious to learn how, do proceed studying by way of this text — however first, let me talk about with you the necessary disclaimers in addition to what a ‘Schengen Visa’ is.

• NO ONE can provide the assure of your France Schengen Visa’s approval — not even a lawyer, a advisor, a journey agent, or an embassy worker. Anybody who says in any other case is most definitely going to be a scammer. So what I’m quite providing you here’s a complete information with useful tricks to enhance your probabilities of getting that visa. Nothing extra, nothing much less.
• There are various kinds of Schengen Visas (for work, examine, and so forth.) however my foremost focus for this text shall be a France Visa for tourism functions solely. To see a listing of necessities for different sorts of visas for nations lined by the French Embassy, go right here.
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Schengen Space

A Schengen Visa is a doc that enables the holder to journey freely throughout the Schengen Space or Zone for a most keep of as much as 90 days in any 6 month interval. This Schengen Space is a bunch of 26 European nations (22 European Union member states and 4 EFTA member states) which have abolished passport and immigration controls at their widespread borders and they’re particularly:

These 26 nations are particularly:

[1] Excluding Greenland and the Faroe Islands
[2] Excluding abroad departments and territories
[3] Excluding Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands
[4] Excluding Svalbard
[5] With particular provisions for Ceuta and Melilla

There are specific nationalities worldwide which can be exempted from making use of for a Schengen Visa, however as Philippine passport holders, as a way to go to a number of of those Schengen states, we’re required to use for the visa. (Bear in mind, Schengen Vacationer Visa holders are NOT allowed to dwell completely nor work in Europe, they solely have the best to journey as a brief customer throughout the allotted timeframe indicated on their visa.)

» READ: How you can Keep Longer in Europe

NOTE: It helps to say that there are non-Schengen members in Europe that enable entry to their nation you probably have a Schengen Visa, particularly: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Turkey, and Vatican Metropolis.

HOWEVER, you need to verify these particulars beforehand since their guidelines might need modified. Plus, typically, solely multiple-entry Schengen visas are allowed. For starters, you’ll be able to verify this listing for a listing of nations you’ll be able to go to with a Schengen visa.

» When ought to I apply for a Schengen Visa?

Apply as early as three (3) months or 90 days earlier than your deliberate journey date departure.

You’ll be able to apply a number of days earlier than your journey, positive — but it surely’s at all times finest that you simply give sufficient time for the embassy to look into your utility. In any case, you wouldn’t wish to make plans solely to have the embassy offer you a visa that has a validity interval that’s NOT inside your meant journey dates.

» The place ought to I apply for a Schengen Visa?

For Schengen Visas which have the principle objective of visiting a buddy/household/nationwide or reuniting with a fiancé/husband/and so forth. in a Schengen state, naturally, you must apply within the corresponding Embassy of the nation the place that individual comes from.

In the meantime, in case you are planning to go to a number of Schengen International locations in your journey, your utility MUST be made on the embassy of the principle vacation spot nation — which means, the nation the place you’ll be staying the longest. If the size of keep is nearly the identical, it’s finest to use for the nation that you’ll first fly or enter in.

So for instance, you need to apply on the French Embassy in Manila provided that based on your Europe itinerary, you’ll be staying the longest in France.

» Which Schengen embassy will I’ve a greater probability of getting a Visa?

There’s no such factor as an embassy that might simply give away Schengen Visas. However, if it’s a query of time — like which Embassy are you able to get utility outcomes the quickest — then that might be a better question for me to reply, which then leads us to the query…

» How lengthy does it take for Schengen Visa outcomes to be launched?

To the very best of my data, the next Embassies normally launch visas earliest in an common of:

It could actually certainly take longer in the event that they want extra paperwork or particulars from you.

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Software Course of for France Schengen Visa

Step 1: Decide the kind of France Schengen visa you might want to apply for

There are, after all, varied sorts of France Schengen Visas on the market that you may apply for: a visa for residence, a visa for household visits, a visa for learning, a visa for work, a visa for being a partner, and so forth.

For this explicit information although, I’ll solely be discussing the necessities for a brief keep (lower than 90 days) vacationer visa — each single and multiple-entry — because it’s an expertise that I’ve gone by way of myself.

So you probably have a special state of affairs or objective of go to, it’s finest that you simply head over to this web page for extra info.

Earlier than we proceed, it helps to say that VFS World has since been providing a ‘France-Visas Help’ service program for an additional price of Php 1,865. It’s a service that can assist help you with registration on ‘France-Visas’, present a listing of paperwork you might want to submit, and ebook your VFS appointment (after all, this VFS France-Visas help service does NOT include the assure that your utility shall be authorised.)
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You’ll be able to join this by going to this hyperlink — nonetheless, if you happen to ask me, it’s an UNNECESSARY expense as a result of the companies they’ll present can already be simply achieved by you (particularly since my free France Schengen Visa information right here will already embody the additional service they’ll be offering). In hindsight although, this service may be useful if you happen to’re in a rush; however actually, the general utility course of gained’t take an excessive amount of of your time.

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Step 2: Register with ‘France-Visas’ and achieve the net type

The French Embassy has their visa purposes processed by their exterior service supplier, VFS World — however earlier than you’ll be able to set an appointment with them, you need to first register by way of the France-Visas web site.

This platform principally determines the necessities you might want to fulfill. After which, it would proceed to ask in your info as a way to mechanically generate the France visa utility type.

To do that, merely observe the directions within the part beneath which you’ll be able to broaden by clicking the ‘+‘ icon.

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Step 3: Schedule your appointment on-line with VFS World

To ebook your France Schengen Visa appointment with VFS, merely observe the steps beneath:

1. Go to France VFS appointment web page and click on ‘I don’t have an account‘ to register your particulars. If you have already got an account, simply check in.
   • As a brand new person, an activation hyperlink shall be despatched to your e-mail. In case you don’t obtain it, verify your spam folder.
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2. As soon as logged in, click on the orange button that claims ‘Begin New Reserving‘. The following web page will present you the next sections:
   • Software Particulars: Select the ‘Manila middle’, ‘Brief Keep’, after which ‘Vacationer’ (or ‘Different Visa’) from the dropdown menus and click on ‘Proceed’.
   • Your Particulars: Enter your France-Visas registration quantity and different particulars. Click on ‘Save’.
   • Ebook Appointment: Choose a date and time slot and click on ‘Proceed’.
   • Providers: Extra companies of ‘Premium Lounge’, ‘Photobooth’, and ‘SMS’. The SMS service is useful if you happen to additionally wish to be notified by way of cellphone (other than their free e-mail replace).
   • Evaluation and Pay: A service payment of Php 2,218 is relevant to ebook an appointment with France VFS — which remains to be separate out of your visa payment that shall be collected throughout your appointment. Present fee choices are debit/bank card, Gcash, and GrabPay.
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3. After fee is confirmed, you’ll be given an Appointment Affirmation doc which you might want to print and convey in your France Schengen Visa utility date.

NOTE: There have been circumstances whereby customers encounter an error that claims ‘You might have already blocked an appointment’ — when actually, you haven’t but. This normally occurs if you happen to mistakenly refresh the web page or in case your fee didn’t course of correctly. So while you attempt to re-do the scheduling course of, you’ll be able to’t proceed anymore.
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Don’t fear although! That is only a non permanent bug on the web site which ought to go away after you clear your browser’s cache and cookies. If that doesn’t work, wait for five to 24 hours earlier than you strive reserving by way of the web site once more.

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Step 4: Put together the required paperwork in your utility

As soon as once more, I’m solely going to sort out the necessities for a vacationer visa. If in case you have different causes for tourism similar to visiting different folks and so forth., verify the corresponding necessities right here.

NOTE: From what I’ve observed, Schengen Visa necessities are virtually comparable, however with only some tweaks or modifications; so, you need to be sure that you observe and supply all the things that the France Embassy requires as detailed beneath.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Don’t neglect to deliver your Appointment Affirmation letter from France VFS.
• Print paperwork in A4 paper.
• Convey all of your authentic paperwork for checking.
• Photocopies have to be clear and readable. Take away staple wires and paper clips out of your paperwork.
• Be at liberty so as to add supporting paperwork to assist strengthen the aim of your utility.

Necessities

• Software Type and Registration Receipt. As I’ve already talked about beforehand, these are the paperwork you’ll get after you accomplish the directions in ‘Step 2’ part above.
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• Philippine passport, authentic and photocopy. Ensure that your passport is legitimate for a minimum of three (3) months after the tip of the deliberate keep in a Schengen Member State, and that it has a minimum of 2 clean pages to affix the visa sticker.
  • You need to photocopy the primary web page containing your private info, in addition to ALL the extra pages which accommodates visas and stamps which can be each legitimate and expired — in COLOR.
  • NOT a citizen within the Philippines? Convey proof that you’re a authorized resident within the nation (e.g. residence allow, and so forth.)
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• 1 Passport-sized Picture. This will need to have a white background, should not even be older than 6 months and have to be sized at 35 x 45 mm. Take observe that edited images are NOT accepted.
  • You need to paste (do NOT staple) this picture in your Software Type.
  • Convey extras simply in case.
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ARE YOU A MINOR TRAVELING TO FRANCE? If that’s the case, the next further paperwork have to be offered:

– Photocopy of PSA delivery certificates
– Notarized affidavit of help and consent of oldsters or authorized guardian
– Photocopy of DSWD journey clearance
– Photocopy of oldsters’ or authorized guardian’s passport or authorities issued ID

• Day-to-day Journey Itinerary & Cowl Letter. If you happen to didn’t ebook an organized tour, you need to present a doc describing your itinerary intimately.
  • For this, it’s additionally good apply to incorporate a private cowl letter to be able to correctly clarify the aim of your journey — this turns into basically useful particularly while you wish to apply for a multiple-entry Schengen Visa. To see a pattern cowl letter and journey itinerary, you’ll be able to view and obtain my file right here.
  • BOOKED a tour journey as an alternative? If in case you have organized an organized journey, merely present a doc exhibiting reserving/reservation affirmation.
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• Roundtrip Flight Ticket Reservation. Do NOT purchase flight tickets earlier than the visa is issued as a result of the French Embassy would NOT take any duty for the flight prices you’ll incur in case your France Schengen Visa will get denied or in case your departure instances get modified. So — simply merely provide a confirmed flight reservation solely. You’ll be able to simply get a flight reservation on-line with OneWayFly for a small payment of solely Php 1,000~. I extremely suggest them as a result of they’re quick, straightforward, and legit; plus, I’ve been utilizing them for years for all of my visa purposes! (Learn right here for more information).
  • In a while, in case you wish to ebook your flight, my go-to platform is Skyscanner since they provide the very best flight offers:

• Proof of Lodging, copy(ies). These are confirmed resort reservation(s) for all the period of your keep within the Schengen nations and so they should include the title and get in touch with particulars of the resort(s) you’ve chosen.
  • If you’ll be staying in different nations throughout your keep, you need to additionally present resort reserving affirmation for these.
  • I normally reserve my resort stays through Reserving.com and/or Agoda.com. With them, you’ll be able to reserve a resort with NO pre-payment and you may even cancel the reserving a day earlier than your arrival with NO cancellation prices in any respect. So sure, you may make reservations with none fee, you’ll be able to change the reservation anytime, AND you’ll be able to cancel them without charge as nicely if in case your visa isn’t authorised.
  • STAYING with a neighborhood as an alternative? You need to get a ‘Proof of Lodging’ (Cerfa type/Attestation d’accueil) which is a French doc that your host should get from their native city corridor in France. You need to organize this upfront as a result of the embassy needs the ORIGINAL doc for this, on condition that it have to be stamped by the consulate and in a while introduced upon your entry in France.
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• Proof of enough funds. In case you are below the age of 18, the next paperwork may be out of your mother and father or authorized guardian.
  • Authentic financial institution certificates/transcripts for the final 6 months and issued throughout the previous 30 days
  • Bank card statements for the final 3 months (if relevant)
  • Final 3 pay slips (if relevant)
  • Vacationers cheques (if relevant)
  • Pension statements (if relevant)

NOTE: Is your journey sponsored by another person? If that’s the case, other than any of the paperwork already listed above, you need to additionally present a notarized ‘Affidavit of Help’, proof of relationship (e.g. delivery certificates, and so forth.), and a photocopy of an ID with signature (e.g. passport).

• Proof of socio-professional state of affairs.
  • Pupil? College attendance certificates or certificates of enrollment, photocopy of College ID, and certificates of go away of absence.
  • Employed? Certificates of Employment and letter indicating authorised go away of absence.
  • Self-Employed? Enterprise registration paperwork and ITR.
  • Retired? Proof of pension.
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• Different proof of rootedness. If you happen to personal any land, vehicles, properties, land titles, and so forth. deliver the unique paperwork in addition to their photocopies. Copies of your marriage certificates can also assist.
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• Worldwide Journey Insurance coverage, copy or authentic. This may be bought regionally, internationally, or in France. You simply have to make sure that it has a protection of a minimum of 30,000 EUR / 50,000 USD / PHP 2.5M to cowl bills for private accidents, pressing medical remedy, pressing admission to a hospital, or pressing repatriation on medical grounds; with protection together with ALL Schengen member states. The validity interval of the insurance coverage protection have to be for the ENTIRE period of the meant keep together with entry and exit day of the Schengen space.
  • For worldwide suppliers, HeyMondo is accepted by the embassy and if you happen to click on this hyperlink, you get a 5% low cost. The advantage of reserving a world supplier is that it’s simpler to buy as it’s all completed on-line in only a few clicks.
  • If buying regionally, the Embassy of France solely accepts insurance coverage insurance policies from any of the next Philippine Insurance coverage firms.

UPDATE: The Embassy now requires journey insurance coverage to have COVID protection. From the listing above, Malayan Insurance coverage gives COVID protection.
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TIP: I bought journey insurance coverage with COVID protection from HeyMondo (click on this hyperlink to get 5% low cost off) and the France Embassy accepted it.

• Proof of vaccination. Vaccines which can be acknowledged are solely these which can be registered by the European Medicines Company (EMA): Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson.

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Step 5: Submit your utility at VFS in your appointment date and pay the visa payment

It helps to reach early in your France Schengen Visa appointment. VFS’ deal with for Manila is:

VFS France Visa Software Centre
thirtieth Flooring, The World Centre
Sen Gil Puyat Ave
Makati Metropolis, Metro Manila
Telephone Quantity: +63 2 790 4903

BUSINESS HOURS: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (9AM to 2PM, by appointment solely)
PASSPORT COLLECTION: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (2PM to 4PM)

After the safety verify, you’ll be queued and when it’s your flip, they’ll verify your paperwork. As soon as they see that your paperwork suffice, VFS will get your biometrics and this shall be adopted by visa fee (typically, biometrics shall be completed first by which they principally take your picture and fingerprints).

NOTE: VFS is not going to specific their opinion on the standard of your information, BUT they’ll verify if all the things is full. They won’t have any affect both on how briskly the Embassy will course of your utility as a result of they’re principally simply performing because the intermediary.
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VISA FEE: €80 euro or its equal in peso that day (about Php 4,780). This payment is non-refundable and most popular to be at a precise quantity.

There was an choice to decide on between pick-up or courier supply when you get your visa utility outcomes, however due to the pandemic, your journey paperwork shall be despatched by courier service as an alternative (the payment for that is already included within the VFS service payment that you’ve got paid on-line again in Step 3).

Afterward, you’ll be issued a receipt and a monitoring or reference quantity (pay attention to this particularly if you wish to observe up in your utility).

The French Embassy nonetheless reserves the best to ask you to seem for a private interview after checking your France Schengen Visa utility.

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Step 6: Look ahead to the outcomes of your France Schengen Visa utility

As soon as the France Embassy is completed assessing your utility, they’ll ship again your passport and your different authentic paperwork to VFS.

Consecutively, VFS will ship you an e-mail or textual content message as soon as your utility is completed, and LBC will ship your passport and visa outcomes. As soon as they’re at your deal with, make certain to current the receipt that you simply obtained from VFS.

Functions accepted at VFS are normally submitted the subsequent working day to the France Embassy and the time required to course of France visa purposes is as much as 2 to 7 working days nonetheless as per Schengen Codex, it might probably take as much as 15 working days and a few may even be referred to as for an interview on the French Embassy.

For instance, my first expertise with the French Embassy took solely 5 working days and I used to be granted a multiple-entry vacationer visa utility. As for my most up-to-date expertise, I used to be granted a 2-year multiple-entry visa in simply 48 hours!

• February 26, 2020: VFS appointment
• March 3, 2020: Visa outcomes and pick-up

• October 19, 2022: VFS appointment, after which my passport was dispatched to the Embassy on the identical day
• October 21, 2022: Visa outcomes and pick-up

It’s stated that candidates with full paperwork and good monetary standing will sometimes get their outcomes inside 48 hours (or 2 days).

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WAS YOUR APPLICATION DENIED? I’m very sorry to listen to this! Each utility is as much as the embassy’s scrutiny regardless of you probably have achieved all the necessities talked about above.

So when your utility is refused, it’s stated that they could or might not point out the rationale, and you could lodge an enchantment in opposition to this resolution to the Minister of the Inside inside 2 months of being knowledgeable. Your request have to be signed, written in French, and despatched by common mail to the next deal with (you can too get the assistance of a lawyer for this).

Secrétariat général de la CRRV
Fee de Recours contre les Décisions de Refus de Visa d’entrée en France
BP 83609 – 44036 Nantes CEDEX 01, France

Make certain to incorporate
– Your private info (final title, first title, date of delivery)
– The title and site of the Embassy that refused your utility

This process is obligatory earlier than it’s despatched for an enchantment to an administrative choose. In the event that they reject your enchantment, they’ll achieve this in writing or by implicitly not replying to you inside 2 months.

It’s clearly a protracted course of… however if you happen to don’t wish to go to the difficulty of interesting, you’ll be able to re-apply at any time — however… that gained’t basically clear up the problem in any respect. Some folks have tried reapplying with one other Embassy however your file of refusal will nonetheless be on their system. However, most of those that had been profitable in getting a visa even after a refusal had been in a position to take action after they utilized for a special visa sort.

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Reserving Necessities

TIP: It’s a good suggestion to crosscheck the costs with different common journey insurance coverage suppliers like World Nomads and HeyMondo (as my reader, you get 5% off)!

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Nevertheless, take observe {that a} journey insurance coverage’s affordability sometimes means lesser protection; so please at all times be sure that you learn the tremendous print as a way to decipher which journey insurance coverage firm is the best match for you and your journey!

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FAQ (Steadily Requested Questions)

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Total, I hope this information for France Schengen Visa purposes will show to be useful for you.

Be at liberty to share some ideas beneath to assist different folks out. Good luck!