Applying for a French visa in Australia

To apply for a visa in Australia, please follow the step-by-step process on the website of the Consulate-General of France here, as copied below:

1. Do I need a visa?

Whether or not you need a visa depends on your nationality, age, activity and the length of your stay. In most cases a visa is required for Australian nationals to stay in France for longer than 90 days.

Use the Visa Wizard to verify whether you need a visa. The wizard will also tell you what documents must be enclosed with your application, along with the relevant fee.

 

 

2. Complete your application online

• When selecting your purpose of stay, pay attention to the options described under the Student tab.  If you're an Australian student going to France on exchange or enrolling in a French university, your purpose of stay is "Study - Student".
  If you're taking part in an intra-European mobility program, your purpose of stay is "Study - Student in mobility".
• The EEF procedure does not yet apply in Australia. You should leave this field blank.
• If you don't have a permanent address in France, you may provide the address of the host university.
• Take note of your Registration Number (FRA*****etc) because you will need this for the next step.

Once you have confirmed wheter you need a visa, you can complete your application on the online portal. You will need to create a France-Visas account, which is used for each step of the process.

You will fill out an online formula with your information and the details of your project in France.

 

Once this formula is complete, the platform will indicate a list the required documents you need to provide with your application. Student visa applicants can then scan and upload their documents to the portal.

3. Submit your application to the visa centre

After you complete the online part of the visa application, you must attend a visa appointment in person at a Visa Collection Centre. These are available in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. You can book an appointment at any one of these - Please note you may be required to travel if there are no visa centres in your city of residence. It is not currently possible for you to complete your application by email or by post. The Honorary Consulates in Australia do not treat Long Stay visas. France-Visas will provide you with all necessary information on how and where to submit your application.

Your appointment must take place within 3 months of the beginning of your course, and more than 3 weeks before your departure - Do not leave booking an appointment until the last minute or you risk running out of available time slots before your planned departure.

4. Attend your visa interview

At the end of the online questionnaire, the website will produce an official list of the required documents which you must prepare submit. You must submit all the required documents. Failure to provide all documentation will delay your visa processing time. We recommend taking several copies of everything to the appointment just in case.

When you attend the interview, you will submit your passport and it will be returned to you with the visa in it; during this time you can’t fly internationally because you would need your passport. You must not book a departure close to the visa appointment. If in doubt, it may be safest to wait until you already have your visa before making travel plans.

If you are a national of a EU country (European Economic Area and Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland), you do not need a student visa to study or do an internship in France. You may freely enter French territory regardless of the length of your stay or your studies.

On the other hand, you must have a sickness and maternity insurance and sufficient financial resources to meet your needs and any family you may be supporting.

Citizens of the EU/EEA/Switzerland may work while studying in France without a residency permit to a maximum of 964 hours per year.

In accordance with the existing agreements, Australian citizens may enter France without any visa and stay for a period up to 90 days. When moving between different countries within the Schengen Area, please note that the 90-day period takes effect from the date of crossing the external border into the Schengen Area. The 90-day period is applied over any period of 180 consecutive days. Before or after your visa period, you must exit the Schengen area and re-enter if you wish to make use of the 90-day visa waiver.
Please note - If you have a long-stay student visa, you must exit the Schengen Zone at the end of the visa. If you want to make use of the extra 90-day period after your studies, you must exit and re-enter the Schengen zone. The same goes for the beginning of the visa - If you arrive in Europe before the start date of your visa, you must leave the Schengen zone and then re-enter to get your passport stamped to activate this after the start date. If you’re planning on long holidays overseas before arriving in France to study, it is recommend you either wait until you already have your visa before booking a departure, or return to Australia to apply for a visa after the holiday.

Young traveller!

Young Australians aged between 18 and 35 years old (up to the date of 36th birthday) can benefit from the working holidays programme. This programme allows you to visit France for a period of more than three months with the right to work, so as to supplement your financial resources. You will obtain a long-stay visa containing the statement vacances travail (working holiday). Its duration is one year and may not be extended, unless otherwise stipulated. It will entitle you to undertake paid employment on a secondary basis, without prior approval from the French Administration.

1/There is no hotline for the visa section. Contact the visa section here.
All the relevant information on these matters can be found on France Visas’ website: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/welcome-page.

2/ The visa centres only accepts debit/credit card payments. No cash will be accepted. It is not a mandatory requirement for the visa applicant to use their own credit card.

3/ Appointments - waiting times for appointments and for processing applications vary depending on your nationality and the time of year. Timeslots on the appointment application (France visas) are available two months in advance: each day, new appointments are available from 10.00 am. New appointments may become available in the event of a cancellation. Please check the appointment system regularly in order to find a suitable date.
Users are therefore asked to submit their visa applications well in advance of their departure date.