NOTE : American citizen holding a diplomatic, official or service passport travelling to France on officials business have to apply for a visa before leaving the United States.

Individuals have to apply with the following requirements, if they intend to travel to France with :

 Diplomatic, Official or service passport ;
 Laissez-passer issued by the United Nations organizations.

No appointments required for these applications. The whole requested following documents may be brought by a carrier at the visa section of the French General Consulate any opened business day between 09:00 and 11:00 am only.

Foreign Embassies and Consulates in the United States are advised that this information page is ONLY intended for Diplomatic, Official or Service passport holders and DO NOT APPLY to regular passport holders, even if employed by a foreign embassy or consulate, personal employees of diplomats or officials, or holders of US visas type "A" in regular passports.

All regular passport holders in this situation can hold a diplomatic note from their embassy to support their application (replacing the employer letter), but have to meet all the other requirements of the schengen visas application and present all supporting documentation. (see shengen visa page) In this situation, a diplomatic note will not be accepted to replace any other requirement than the employer letter (a diplomatic note cannot be a financial guarantee for a tourist visit of a regular passport holder for example)

I/ REQUIREMENTS FOR A SHORT STAY (less than 90 days):

 Passport valid for at least three months beyond the applicant’s last day of stay in the Schengen states. Please make sure that :

• your passport has a minimum of two blank pages (to affix the visa and for border stamps). Only visa pages are valid, amendments pages cannot be used for visas or entry stamps.
• your passport is in good condition (any slight damage, even to the cover, can be considered as a compromission of the security of the travel document and declined at the visa section or at the border)
• your passport allows proper identification of the bearer without any doubt (for example, passports of adults with passport pictures in their young ages may not be accepted)
• your passport has been issued less than 10 years ago (first issuance) . Even if it has been renewed since then by your country, we will decline your passport for a visa application and you will have to renew it prior to applying.

The immigration officer of the visa section has full authority to decline a passport that wouldn’t meet the requirements and request a renewed one before you can apply for a visa at the french consulate.

 A copy of the passport (identification page + page mentioning the validity of the passport if not mentionned on the ID page, or extended).

 A copy of your US Status (US visa type "A" visa or Green Card). Only Diplomats or Official passport holders posted and resident in the US can apply for a visa. B1/B2 visa holders, or diplomats under a visa with "TDY" mention are not accepeted, as they are temporary visitors in the US. They should apply for a Schengen visa in their home country or country where they are posted.

 1 or 2 short stay application forms completely and clearly fully filled out and signed by the applicant. Imitation of a signature is a fraud and will be reported to the proper authorities. Please print in black. Indicate also your phone numbers and e-mail. Verify the number of forms by clicking here. (hint : forms should be signed twice in two dedicated boxes on the last third page. Signatures should be made precisely and consistently, and both matching the one in the passport. Lots of application are rejected because of signatures missing or suspected fraudulent.)

 2 photographs (more informations about the photograph) . All photos must be recent, identical, passport size - 1,4" x 1,7" (3,5cm x 4,5cm) and showing face front the forehead hairline and ears on a white background, the face must take up 70-80% of the photograph. (hint for the picture size : measure the face size between the exterior of the two ears : from 3/4 of an inch to less than one inch the picture size will be fine. an inch or more, or less than 3/4 of an inch : high chance to be invalid to make a visa)

 An official diplomatic letter from your embassy, or from the Department of state (for American officials) or from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund… . This letter should specify your name, your position, your passport’s type and date and purpose of travel.

For US Departments, please note that only few signers are appointed to issue official notes. You should contact the office in charge of the visas of your department or the SIA (special issuance agency, 1111 19th Street, Washington, DC) for further information if necessary.

Failure to comply with any of these guidelines will lead your application to be rejected.

For informative purposes only :

 For US official and diplomatic passport, the average time process for a visa is usually from 3 to 4 business days. We advise you to apply at least 7 to 10 business days prior to your planned trip. Pick up by carriers on same schedule hours for drop offs.

 For any other official or diplomatic passport, depending on the nationality, this time process can be the same or up to an average 10 business days. We advise you to apply at least 15 business days prior to your planned trip. Pick up by carriers on same schedule hours for drop offs.

 As a courtesy between nations, diplomatic or official passport holders are waived visas fees for their application.

I/ REQUIREMENTS FOR A LONG STAY (90 days or more):

Applications for a diplomatic or official long stay in France (90 days or more) can only be presented in Washington DC by the US authorities. Other nationals should apply through the State Department of their home country to the local french embassy.

 Passport valid for at least six months. Please make sure that :

• your passport has a minimum of two blank pages (to affix the visa and for border stamps). Only visa pages are valid, amendments pages cannot be used for visas or entry stamps.
• your passport is in good condition (any slight damage, even to the cover, can be considered as a compromission of the security of the travel document and declined at the visa section or at the border)
• your passport allows proper identification of the bearer without any doubt (for example, passports of adults with passport pictures in their young ages may not be accepted)
• your passport has been issued less than 10 years ago (first issuance) . Even if it has been renewed since then by your country, we will decline your passport for a visa application and you will have to renew it prior to applying.

The immigration officer of the visa section has full authority to decline a passport that wouldn’t meet the requirements and request a renewed one before you can apply for a visa at the french consulate.

 A copy of the passport (identification page + signature).

 2 original long stay application forms fully filled out in black and signed by the applicant. Imitation of a signature is a fraud and will be reported to the proper authorities. Please do not forget to write your phone number (home and cell) and e-mail address. (hint : forms should be signed precisely and consistently, and matching the one in the passport.)

  This form is only available in french but we provide an itemized translation in English of the long stay visa application form.

 2 photographs (more informations about the photograph) . All photos must be recent, identical, passport size - 1,4" x 1,7" (3,5cm x 4,5cm) and showing face front the forehead hairline and ears on a white background, the face must take up 70-80% of the photograph. (hint for the picture size : measure the face size between the exterior of the two ears : from 3/4 of an inch to less than one inch the picture size will be fine. an inch or more, or less than 3/4 of an inch : high chance to be invalid to make a visa)

 An official diplomatic letter from the State Department (for American officials). This letter should specify your name, your position, your passport’s type and number, and the name of the person you replace (or new post if you are not replacing anyone)

Please note that only few signers are appointed to issue US official notes. You should contact the office in charge of the visas of your department or the SIA (special issuance agency, 1111 19th Street, Washington, DC) for further information if necessary.

US official and diplomatic passport holders are advised that long stay visas for France take an average time process of2 to 4 weeks, and occasionnaly up to two months. We advise you to apply at least 1 to 2 months prior to your departure for a position of this type in France. Pick up by carriers on same schedule hours for drop offs.