From 20 February 2026, every applicant for a French visa—whether a short-stay Schengen sticker or a long-stay residence visa—must book their appointment exclusively through the France-Visas portal. Walk-in requests and the informal ‘email for a slot’ work-arounds that agencies had relied on at some consulates have been shut down.
The new workflow obliges travellers to run an eligibility check with the Visa Wizard before the platform releases any dates. Applicants then complete a detailed questionnaire on Démarches Simplifiées and receive an automated e-mail; failure to reconfirm within the stated deadline cancels the slot. On appointment day, consular staff will refuse any file that is incomplete or that contains data inconsistencies, and biometric capture will be mandatory unless fingerprints are already on file from the past 59 months.
![France switches to mandatory online visa-appointment system]()
Paris says the move tackles three persistent headaches: fraudulent “ghost” bookings sold on social media, queuing outside visa centres during peak season, and repeated no-shows that slow processing for legitimate travellers. Corporate immigration managers welcome the predictability but warn that employees must now plan even further in advance because popular summer dates disappeared within hours of the system going live.
If you need extra assistance navigating these stricter procedures, VisaHQ offers a convenient alternative to going it alone. Through its dedicated France page (https://www.visahq.com/france/), the platform double-checks your documents, monitors appointment availability, and guides you step by step so you avoid missed deadlines and last-minute surprises.
The Interior Ministry has also issued a consumer-protection alert: only the government website can allocate visa appointments, and any third-party agent promising a guaranteed slot is acting illegally. Companies have been advised to update internal mobility guidelines immediately and to brief relocating staff on the stricter timelines.
The new workflow obliges travellers to run an eligibility check with the Visa Wizard before the platform releases any dates. Applicants then complete a detailed questionnaire on Démarches Simplifiées and receive an automated e-mail; failure to reconfirm within the stated deadline cancels the slot. On appointment day, consular staff will refuse any file that is incomplete or that contains data inconsistencies, and biometric capture will be mandatory unless fingerprints are already on file from the past 59 months.
Paris says the move tackles three persistent headaches: fraudulent “ghost” bookings sold on social media, queuing outside visa centres during peak season, and repeated no-shows that slow processing for legitimate travellers. Corporate immigration managers welcome the predictability but warn that employees must now plan even further in advance because popular summer dates disappeared within hours of the system going live.
If you need extra assistance navigating these stricter procedures, VisaHQ offers a convenient alternative to going it alone. Through its dedicated France page (https://www.visahq.com/france/), the platform double-checks your documents, monitors appointment availability, and guides you step by step so you avoid missed deadlines and last-minute surprises.
The Interior Ministry has also issued a consumer-protection alert: only the government website can allocate visa appointments, and any third-party agent promising a guaranteed slot is acting illegally. Companies have been advised to update internal mobility guidelines immediately and to brief relocating staff on the stricter timelines.
