Updated October 2026. The France short-stay visa (visa court séjour, type C) covers up to 90 days in any 180-day period for tourism, family or business, and many nationalities are exempt. You apply through France-Visas and the consulate or VFS Global or TLScontact. You must show €120 a day, €65 with a hotel booking or €32.50if a host signs an attestation d'accueil (€30 stamp), plus €30,000 travel insurance. It does not allow work or stays beyond 90 days.
Key takeaways
- The short-stay visa (type C) allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
- Whether you need one is nationality-dependent; many nationalities are visa-exempt for short stays.
- You apply via France-Visas and the consulate or an outsourced centre like VFS or TLScontact.
- You must show €120 a day, or €65 with a hotel, or €32.50 with an attestation d'accueil.
- It does not grant work rights; beyond 90 days you need a long-stay visa such as the VLS-TS visiteur (€1,477.93 a month net).
Who needs a Schengen visa for France?
Whether you need a short-stay Schengen visa is nationality-dependent. Citizens of the EU, EEA, and Switzerland do not need a visa, and many other nationalities are visa-exempt for short stays in the Schengen area. Travellers from countries without a visa waiver must obtain a short-stay visa (visa court séjour, type C) before travelling. The fastest way to confirm your situation is the France-Visas wizard, which checks your nationality and the purpose of your trip.
A short-stay visa typically covers tourism, family or private visits, and business trips. It is issued for stays within the 90/180 limit and is normally valid across the whole Schengen area, not only France. Confirm the current rules and document lists on service-public.fr and France-Visas before you apply.
What is the 90/180 rule?
The 90/180 rule limits short stays to a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. It applies whether you travel visa-free or hold a short-stay Schengen visa, and it counts your time across the whole Schengen area, not just France. The 180-day window is a rolling one: on any given day, the system looks back over the previous 180 days and adds up how many days you were already present.
Overstaying can lead to entry refusals, fines, or bans, so it is worth tracking your days carefully. Going over the 90-day limit is exactly why people who plan to live, study, or work in France need a long-stay visa instead. Soon, the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) will register entries and exits electronically, making the day count more automatic.
Count your days before you book
How much money must you show per day for a Schengen visa to France?
| Stay | No accommodation proof (€120/day) | Hotel booking (€65/day) | Attestation d'accueil (€32.50/day) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 weeks (14 days) | €1,680 | €910 | €455 |
| 30 days | €3,600 | €1,950 | €975 |
| 60 days | €7,200 | €3,900 | €1,950 |
| 90 days | €10,800 | €5,850 | €2,925 |
France sets the means a short-stay visitor must show at €120 a day without accommodation proof, €65 a day with a hotel booking, and €32.50 a day when a host in France signs an attestation d'accueil. The amounts are unchanged in 2026 and apply twice: at the consulate when you apply, and again at the border, where an officer can ask for bank cards, cash or statements.
The accommodation proof changes the bill more than anything else. A 60-day visit costs €7,200 in shown funds with no proof, but €1,950with a host's attestation, a gap of €5,250 for a €30 stamp. Show bank statements covering the figure for your dates, and keep the France-Visas checklist for your country next to you: consulates add their own document requirements.
What is an attestation d'accueil and when does it help?
An attestation d'accueil is a hosting certificate that a person living in France requests at their mairie for a named non-EU visitor. The host pays a €30 stamp, and the mairie answers within one month, per Service-Public fiche F2191. With the appointment and international post, allow 6 to 12 weeks before the visa appointment.
The certificate is worth it for any family visit of more than a few days. A settled engineer in Paris inviting his mother from Algeria for eight weeks would otherwise need her to show €6,720 (56 days at €120); with his attestation the floor drops to €1,820 (56 days at €32.50, our calculation). The host commits to housing the visitor for the dates on the certificate, so request it only once the trip dates are fixed. For stays longer than 90 days, see our family reunion guide.
How do you apply step by step?
A France Schengen visa takes six steps, and the application starts on France-Visas.
- Step 1: Check on France-Visas whether your nationality needs a short-stay visa for your trip.
- Step 2: Prepare your documents: a valid passport, travel insurance (minimum €30,000), proof of accommodation or an attestation d'accueil, proof of means (€120, €65 or €32.50 a day), and evidence of return.
- Step 3: Complete the application on France-Visas and generate your receipt.
- Step 4: Book an appointment at the consulate or an outsourced centre such as VFS Global or TLScontact.
- Step 5: Attend the appointment, pay the fee, and provide biometrics (fingerprints and photo).
- Step 6: Collect your passport with the visa, then travel within the 90/180 limit.
What if you want to stay in France longer than 90 days?
A short-stay Schengen visa allows no work and no stay beyond 90 days. The long-stay route for someone who does not want to work is the VLS-TS visiteur: you must show at least the net SMIC, €1,477.93 a month or €17,735.19 a year for a single person, and sign a declaration that you will not work. Consulates keep discretion, and income of 1.5 to 2 times that floor materially lowers refusal risk; couples show about €2,100 a month in practice. Many applicants wrongly quote the gross SMIC of €1,867.02, as this 2026 r/Expats_In_France thread shows.
Validating a visiteur visa on ANEF costs €300 since 1 May 2026, up from €200. If you are 18 to 30 (35 for some nationalities) and want to work, the working-holiday PVT is the alternative: about €2,500 of own funds plus a return ticket, a free visa and 10 to 21 working days of processing, per diplomatie.gouv.fr. Students and workers apply for their own long-stay categories through France-Visas.
Separately, the EU is rolling out border and travel measures that affect short stays. The Entry/Exit System (EES) registers non-EU travellers electronically at external Schengen borders, replacing manual passport stamps. ETIAS is a planned EU travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, separate from a visa. Both are EU-wide measures, so check official EU sources for current launch timing and fees rather than relying on unofficial dates.
Sources: France-Visas, French consulates, service-public.fr, and EU institutions for EES and ETIAS, as of October 2026. Visa requirements, fees, insurance thresholds, and EES/ETIAS timing change, so verify the current rules for your nationality before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money do you need per day for a Schengen visa to France?
France applies three daily amounts: €120 a day if you have no accommodation proof, €65 a day with a hotel booking, and €32.50 a day if a host in France signs an attestation d'accueil. The amounts are unchanged in 2026 and are checked both at the visa stage and at the border.
What is an attestation d'accueil?
It is a hosting certificate that a person living in France requests at their mairie for a non-EU visitor. It costs a €30 stamp, the mairie answers within one month, and it cuts the visitor's means requirement to €32.50 a day. Allow six to twelve weeks in total with the appointment and posting.
Do you need a Schengen visa to visit France?
It depends on your nationality. Many nationalities are visa-exempt for short stays of up to 90 days, while others must obtain a short-stay Schengen visa (visa court sejour, type C) before travelling. Check your situation on France-Visas, which runs an online wizard that tells you whether a visa is required for your trip.
What is the 90/180 rule for Schengen?
The 90/180 rule means you can stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, whether you travel visa-free or on a short-stay Schengen visa. The 180-day window moves with you, so the system counts back 180 days from any given date and adds up the days you were already present.
Does a Schengen visa let you work or live in France?
No. A short-stay Schengen visa is for tourism, family or business visits, and similar short trips. It does not grant the right to long-term residence or to take up employment. For those purposes you need a long-stay visa or residence permit, such as a work visa, student visa, or another long-stay category.
What insurance do you need for a France Schengen visa?
Applicants for a short-stay Schengen visa must hold travel medical insurance valid across the Schengen area with minimum cover of €30,000, covering medical emergencies, hospital care, and repatriation for the full duration of the stay. France-Visas and the consulate list this as a required document.
What are EES and ETIAS?
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU border system that registers non-EU travellers electronically at external Schengen borders, replacing manual passport stamping. ETIAS is a planned EU travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors. Both are EU-wide measures; consult official EU sources for current launch timing and details.
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