The French Interior Ministry has flipped the switch on a fully digital visa-appointment workflow: from 20 February 2026 every foreign national—whether applying for a short-stay Schengen sticker or a long-stay residence visa—must secure a slot through the France-Visas portal before showing up at a consulate or external service provider. Walk-in requests and the informal ‘email us for a slot’ practices still common in some jurisdictions have been abolished. (business-standard.com)
Applicants must first complete the Visa Wizard eligibility check, then fill in a detailed online questionnaire on Démarches Simplifiées. An automatic e-mail proposes a date and hour; failing to reconfirm within the deadline cancels the slot. On appointment day, consular staff will refuse any file that is incomplete or contains data inconsistencies. Biometric capture is compulsory unless fingerprints have been taken for a Schengen visa within the previous 59 months.
Paris says the reform tackles three headaches: fraudulent “ghost” bookings sold on Telegram, long queues outside visa centres during peak periods, and repeated no-shows that slow processing for genuine travellers. Corporate immigration managers welcome the predictability but warn that popular summer dates disappeared within hours of the system going live, forcing earlier planning for assignees and business travellers.
![France makes online visa appointments mandatory worldwide, ending walk-in requests]()
For applicants who prefer expert assistance, VisaHQ offers end-to-end support with France-Visas registration, document preparation and appointment confirmation; details and pricing are available at https://www.visahq.com/france/
The new rules also include a consumer-protection campaign: authorities are warning applicants not to pay unauthorised intermediaries who promise “guaranteed” slots. Offenders could face fines under France’s anti-scalping legislation.
Practically, multinationals should update global-mobility checklists immediately. HR teams need to budget extra lead-time for secondments and ensure employees have scanned copies of all supporting documents—especially proof of accommodation and corporate invitation letters—ready to upload at the booking stage.
Applicants must first complete the Visa Wizard eligibility check, then fill in a detailed online questionnaire on Démarches Simplifiées. An automatic e-mail proposes a date and hour; failing to reconfirm within the deadline cancels the slot. On appointment day, consular staff will refuse any file that is incomplete or contains data inconsistencies. Biometric capture is compulsory unless fingerprints have been taken for a Schengen visa within the previous 59 months.
Paris says the reform tackles three headaches: fraudulent “ghost” bookings sold on Telegram, long queues outside visa centres during peak periods, and repeated no-shows that slow processing for genuine travellers. Corporate immigration managers welcome the predictability but warn that popular summer dates disappeared within hours of the system going live, forcing earlier planning for assignees and business travellers.
For applicants who prefer expert assistance, VisaHQ offers end-to-end support with France-Visas registration, document preparation and appointment confirmation; details and pricing are available at https://www.visahq.com/france/
The new rules also include a consumer-protection campaign: authorities are warning applicants not to pay unauthorised intermediaries who promise “guaranteed” slots. Offenders could face fines under France’s anti-scalping legislation.
Practically, multinationals should update global-mobility checklists immediately. HR teams need to budget extra lead-time for secondments and ensure employees have scanned copies of all supporting documents—especially proof of accommodation and corporate invitation letters—ready to upload at the booking stage.
