The usual time to make an appointment varies according to the seasons.

• For short-stay visas, users are required to anticipate in order to obtain their appointment at least 6 weeks before departure "in low season" and 3 months before departure "in high season".
• The deadline for long stay visas is 2 months in all seasons.

Applications cannot be submitted more than 6 months before the departure date.

Taking Appointments

Once all the required documents (forms, passport, photographs, medical insurance covering your trip, various proofs, visa fees, etc ...) and your visa application is ready, you are invited to take an appointment online . All requested documents must be submitted at the time of filing the application. Any incomplete file may be refused.

The Visas Center only receives applicant by appointment made online (appointment details)

• An appointment must be made for each visa applicant
• You can make an appointment up to 3 months before the scheduled date of travel
• You must print the appointment confirmation letter in order to present it at the Visas Center entrance.

Preparation before coming to the center

Personal Appearance: Each visa applicant must appear in person to file a visa application, after making an appointment, with the exception of applicants exempted from collecting biometric data:

• Children under 12 years old; their visa applications (including the form, photos, passport, visa fees, proof) must be lodged at the Visa Center by the father or mother of the child, or the person having parental authority,
• Applicants holding VIS visas issued for less than 59 months.
• When making an appointment on the VFS GLOBAL website, you must provide an email address to receive the confirmation letter of your appointment. This letter will be required when you visit the VFS GLOBAL Visa Application Center. You must print it before going to the center with your visa application.

Your appointment at the Visa Application Center

You must arrive at the VFS Visa Center approximately 10 minutes before the appointment time in order to pass security checks. Only visa applicants are allowed to enter the Visa Center. No visitor or companion is allowed to enter except:

• The companion of a child aged 12 to 18;
• The accompanist of a person with reduced mobility;
• Anyone who has obtained a permission from the consular authority.

Do not forget to take with you:

• The appointment confirmation letter (to be printed);
• The file containing all the required documents classified in the order of the list of documents;
• Means of payment of visa fees and service fees

On arrival at the Visa Center you may choose:

• For general service (basic package);
• For the premium service (additional service).

On arrival in the waiting area, you must wait to be called to a counter with your token number.

Reception
At the visa application counter, an employee of VFS checks to see if the contents of your file correspond to the list of required documents provided by the French Consular Authority.   VFS employees are not allowed to express an opinion on the quality of the file or the decision to be made by the Consular Authority.

If the content of your application does not correspond to the list of required documents (missing documents), you can decide not to submit your file, to complete it and to return to the Visa Center another day by getting a new appointment; if you do not submit your file, you will not have to pay a visa fee, but the service fees paid online will not be refunded;

If you decide to file an incomplete file, the VFS employee will ask you to sign a document indicating that your file is incomplete and which documents will be missing. An application without the complete set of documents according to the checklist mentioned on the website may result in the rejection of the visa application.

The French Embassy in Abu Dhabi reserves the right to request additional supporting documents if necessary. Issuance of the visa cannot be guaranteed.

The filing of a complete file does not in any way mean that the Consular Authority will issue you the visa requested.

Weekends : Saturdays and Sundays

Holidays in 2023 :

• Monday 10^th of April
• Thursday 20^th and Friday 21^st of April *
• Monday 1^st of May
• Monday 29^th of May
• Wednesday 28^th and Thursday 29^th of June *
• Friday 14^th of July
• Wednesday 1^st of November
• Friday 1^st of December
• Monday 25^th of December

(*) : Exact date to be specified later by the local authorities

As instructed by the French Consular Authority:

• Only applicants are allowed to enter the Center ; no accompanying person is allowed, except with autorisation to be requested by email to VFS assistance service ;
• Any person entering the Visa Application Centre is subject to security controls.

Due to security reasons, the following items are not be permitted inside the Visa Application Centre, nor stored in the premises:

• All battery-operated or electronic gadgets such as cameras, audio / video cassettes, compact discs, MP3's, floppies, laptops, or portable music players;
• All bags such as travel bags, back packs, briefcases, suitcases, leather, jute or cloth bags and zip folders. Only a plastic bag containing your documents necessary for your application would be permitted;
• Sealed envelopes or packages;
• Any inflammable item such as matchboxes / lighters / fuel, etc.
• Any sharp objects such as scissors, pen knives…
• Any weapon or weapon like objects or explosive material of any kind.

The list provided above is not exhaustive. Other items may be prohibited based on security staff discretion.

There is no facility at the Visa Application Centre to store prohibited items. Therefore, applicants are requested to make alternate arrangements to keep the same before entry into the Centre.

When the Center receives the envelope containing your passport, you will automatically receive an e-mail and an SMS message at the telephone number you provided.
If you would like the envelope containing your passport (and, if applicable, any other document returned to you by the Consular Authority) to be sent to you by courier, you can apply to courier service when you submit your application and the passport will be sent directly to the address you have provided.

If you have not opted for the "delivery" service, you must:

• Either collect the passport yourself, for this purpose you must bring the original receipt that has been given to you by the Visa Application Center;
• Or have it collected by a representative, who must provide: the original receipt given to the applicant, and an authorization from the applicant.
• After your appointment and the deposit of your file in the center, you can follow the evolution of your application on the site of VFS Global .

Processing times - upon receipt of a complete application - are given as general guidelines and will vary according various parameters including the type of visa.
There is no expedite procedure for a visa, and the Visa Section cannot influence this timeline of process.
Reminder: do allow at least 15 days for visa processing.