Warning
We warn you against unscrupulous intermediaries who offer “visa kits”. Submitting invalid or falsified documents will lead to a visa refusal which may have negative consequences for future visa applications.
Prepare your visit
When you have all the documents required for your application, you can apply at one of the 18 Center of VFS Global operating for France. Appointments are mandatory for all applications.
In order to make an appointment through via the call centre or on the VFS Russia website, you will be asked to immediately provide an email address where you can receive the appointment confirmation letter. You will be asked to show this letter when you visit the VFS Global Centres in Russia. You must print the letter out before visiting the Centre along with your other visa application documents.
Visa applicants must generally submit their visa application in person.
However, a representative may apply on behalf of the applicant with an ID document, a proxy letter (not notarized), dated and signed by the applicant and a copy of the previous
visa for which fingerprints of the applicant were collected. You may refer to the sample proxy letters in French and Russian.
In accordance with the Russian Law on Personal Data, all applicants who apply for a visa through the France Visa Application Centre must personally complete and sign the authorization for the processing of personal data. Consent to processing of personal data of children under 18 must be signed by the parent or legal guardian. (form)
Notarized parental consent forms:
- In the case of children traveling with someone with parental rights, such as the child’s father, mother or legal guardian, no parental consent is required, provided the parent or legal guardian applies simultaneously or that proof is given that he or she has a Schengen visa valid for the intended stay.
- In the case of children traveling alone or with a third person, consent from the parent or legal guardian is required.
- In the case of orphans, an authorization from the orphanage director must be provided along with an agreement by the Supervising Authority through the validation of the contract with the French host organization and the inclusion of the leaving the child in the register of the Regulatory Body. Authorizations certified by a notary must be dated less 3 months before the application date (in the case of single parents, such authorizations can be delivered before that or at least after the disappearance of the second parent). These authorizations must include the departure and return dates or the intended duration of the stay, the countries of destination and must be signed by the parent(s).
When applying, do not forget to bring with you :
- If you made an appointment, the appointment confirmation letter (printed out) ;
- Your passport: (if you made an appointment, the passport number must be identical to the passport number indicated on the appointment confirmation letter) ;
- The file containing all the required documents presented in the same order as on the list of required documents ;
- Payment to cover the cost of the visa and the processing fees.
If your visa application is incomplete (i.e. missing documents), you may choose not to submit your application until you have all the required documents and come back to the Centre at a later date. You will not have to pay any processing fees if you decide not to submit your application at this time.
However, if you do decide to submit your incomplete application, you will be asked to sign a document indicating that your application is incomplete and that certain documents are missing.
Submitting a complete application does not guarantee that the consular authorities will issue you a visa.
Travel agencies
- Travel agencies may prepare and submit applications on behalf of their clients.
- One day prior to the submission date, travel agencies are required to email the list of applicants to be submitted to the Visa Centre. A sample can be downloaded here.
- If their clients are not exempted from biometrics, travel agencies are required to make appointments for their clients to enroll biometrics on the same day of the submission of the applications.
- An original authorization letter signed by the applicant must be provided for each application. Applicants have the option to use the authorization letter template provided by VFS.
- If the applicants do not show up for biometric collection, travel agencies are required to collect the applications and payment on the same day.
Biometric data
All visas issued by France are biometric visas.
Applicants who are over 12 years of age are required to appear in person at the time of their first application. The following biometric identifiers are collected: a photograph, scanned or taken at the time of the application, and 10 fingerprints, taken flat and digitized.
However, it is possible to retrieve your biometric data if a previous biometric Schengen visa has been issued to you less than 59 months ago.
Children under 12 years of age: children under 12 years of age are not required to provide the biometric data, short stay Schengen visa application may be submitted by the child’s parent/legal guardian. The ISO/IEC format photograph 
(pdf) of the child will be scanned.
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