VFS Global France Visa: Applying from India Step by Step

The visa appointment itself is the easy part. It is the preparation that trips people up. Get your documents right, book early, and you will walk out of the VFS centre with nothing but a wait ahead of you.

If you are applying for a French long stay visa (séjour) from India, you are almost certainly going through VFS Global, the outsourced visa application centre that handles French consulate submissions across major Indian cities. VFS does not decide your visa, the French consulate does. VFS's job is to check your documents, collect your biometrics, and forward your application. Understanding this distinction will save you a lot of stress.

Step 1: Before You Even Open the VFS Website

The VFS appointment is the last step, not the first. Before you book anything, you need two things in order.

Campus France registration first. If you are a student, you must complete your Campus France process: upload documents, pay the registration fee, and attend a Campus France interview if required. This must happen before the consulate will accept your visa application. Do not skip this or treat it as a parallel process. It must come first.

The standard documents required for Campus France registration from India include:

• Passport (copy)
• Academic transcripts: Class 10, Class 12, and all undergraduate mark sheets and degree certificate
• Statement of Purpose (SOP)
• CV / résumé
• Language proficiency scores (IELTS, TOEFL, DELF/DALF, or TCF, depending on the programme)
• Proof of financial resources
• Admission letter or proof of application to a French institution (if already obtained)

The exact list varies by institution and programme level. Always verify the requirements on your Campus France regional portal (India: inde.campusfrance.org) before uploading. Missing a document at this stage delays the entire visa timeline.

Once Campus France clears you, go to france-visas.gouv.fr and complete your online visa application. This portal generates a barcode stamped application form you must print and bring to your VFS appointment. Without it, your appointment is useless.

Tip: You do not need a long-term private lease at visa-application time. Acceptable accommodation proof includes a CROUS allocation letter, a private lease, an attestation d'hébergement (host certificate from a relative or friend with their ID and proof of address), or even a hotel or Airbnb booking covering your first weeks.

Step 2: Booking Your VFS Appointment

Go to visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/fra and click "Book an Appointment". Select the France long stay visa category, then choose the VFS centre nearest to you. VFS France centres currently operate in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

Book as early as humanly possible. During the April to September peak season, slots in metros disappear within hours of opening. Aim to book at least 8 to 10 weeks before your intended travel date. Confirm the current centre address directly on the VFS website before you travel to the appointment, VFS occasionally relocates centres.

Processing typically takes 15 working days after your appointment, though it can extend to 30 to 45 working days during peak months. Factor this into your travel planning.

Step 3: The Document Checklist

This is where most rejections happen. The VFS officer checks documents; the consulate makes the decision. Arriving with an incomplete set wastes both your appointment and your time. For a long stay student visa, your standard dossier includes:

India follows the EEF (Études en France) procedure, so the official France-Visas auto-generated checklist for an Indian student long-stay visa is:

• Passport: issued less than 10 years ago, at least 2 blank pages, valid for at least 3 months beyond the visa expiry date. Scan the ID page and all pages that carry stamps or visas.
• Visa application form: printed from france-visas.gouv.fr with the barcode visible
• ID photograph: matching French consulate specifications (35x45mm, plain white background, no glasses)
• EEF-Pastel pre-registration certificate: generated by your Campus France EEF-Pastel account, stating your EEF ID number. This replaces the standard diploma submission required of non-EEF countries.
• Financial proof for students, rule change on 1 August 2026. For applications filed before 1 August 2026 the required threshold is €615 per month (€7,380 per year, roughly ₹6.5 to 7 lakh). For applications filed from 1 August 2026 onwards the threshold jumps to 47 % of the SMIC brut mensuel, which works out to approximately €877.50 per month (about €10,530 per year, roughly ₹9.4 lakh at July 2026 exchange rates). This is the first update since a 2002 order, and the amount is now indexed to the SMIC. Legal basis: Décret n° 2026-526 du 22 juin 2026. Acceptable proof forms are unchanged: a scholarship certificate, a bank statement showing a deposit in a French bank account, a bank statement of permanent and irrevocable transfer (or blocked account), or a guarantor's written undertaking with proof of their income and ID. Submit Indian bank statements in INR, the consulate handles the EUR conversion. The date that matters is the file submission date at VFS, not the appointment booking date. A July booking that spills into an August submission must meet the higher bar. For guidance on remitting money to France and current TCS rules under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, see our Forex and Remittances guide.
• Accommodation proof: hotel reservation, rental agreement, sworn statement from a host (CROUS, university residence, or a private individual with their ID and proof of address), or an explanatory letter from the student detailing the planned accommodation.

Heads up on supplementary documents: The official auto-generated checklist above does not list a birth certificate, sworn translations, or an MEA apostille. Individual consulates can and do request supplementary documents on a case-by-case basis, and birth certificates in regional Indian languages are a common ask. If your consulate asks, you will need a certified English or French translation of the document plus an apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Apostille processing takes 1 to 2 weeks, so do not leave it to the week of your appointment. Always check the live France-Visas checklist generated for your specific application before assembling your dossier.

Travel insurance: Not part of the official France-Visas auto-checklist for long-stay students, but consulates routinely expect coverage with medical-repatriation. €30,000 is the Schengen short-stay minimum and the figure most consulates apply by default for long-stay applicants too. Verify with your consulate.

Step 4: At the VFS Centre

Your appointment typically lasts 15 to 20 minutes. The VFS officer will:

1. Verify your documents against the checklist
2. Collect your biometric data (fingerprints and a digital photograph)
3. Accept your application fee and issue a receipt with a tracking reference

Visa fee for Indian students: the EEF-procedure long-stay student visa fee is €50 (roughly ₹4,500 in 2026), instead of the standard €99 charged to non-EEF countries. This is the consular fee paid at VFS in India, before you travel. The VFS service fee is added on top of this and varies with the centre and any optional services (courier, premium lounge). Verify the current breakdown on the VFS portal before your appointment.

Fee reference for all visa types (July 2026)

Every applicant pays two separate fees. First a consular visa fee at VFS in India, then a timbre fiscal at the ANEF validation step after arrival in France. Both are captured below.

Consular visa fees (paid at VFS in India, before travel)

Arrival timbre fiscal (paid on ANEF after arrival in France)

Effective 1 May 2026 under the loi de finances 2026:

Applicants with a full exemption on the consular fee (spouses of French citizens, Charpak or Eiffel scholarship holders, researchers with institutional invitations, diplomatic passport holders, and a few other categories) still owe the VFS service charge and the arrival timbre fiscal.

Keep your tracking reference. You can use it to monitor your application status on the VFS website.

Step 5: After Submission, What Happens Next

Your application goes to the French consulate, which makes the final decision. You cannot contact the consulate directly. VFS is your only point of contact.

If approved, your passport will either be returned via courier (if you opted for that service) or will be available for collection at the VFS centre. Your visa will be a VLS-TS (long stay visa that serves as a temporary residence permit), valid typically for 12 months. Once in France, you must validate this visa online via the ANEF portal within 3 months of arrival and pay a €150 timbre fiscal for students on timbres.impots.gouv.fr, split as €50 stamp duty and €100 tax. Non-student categories pay €350 at this step. Failure to validate means you are technically in France illegally, even with a valid visa sticker.

Crucial Tip: The ANEF validation is the step most new arrivals miss because they assume the visa stamp is sufficient. It is not. Set a reminder for your first week in France.

This guide was drafted from verified sources. Always confirm details on the official website before taking action.