In remarks picked up by several Russian outlets on 3 May, Ambassador Alexei Meshkov revealed that France issued “barely 150 000” visas to Russian citizens in 2025—roughly one-third of the 450 000 multiple-entry permits granted annually before the pandemic and before EU sanctions over Ukraine. According to the envoy, most approvals are now single-entry business or family-visit visas, and application fees have doubled with the expiry of the 2007 EU-Russia facilitation agreement. French officials have not disputed the figures but note that outbound travel from Russia collapsed after March 2022 and only recovered partially once direct flights via the Gulf and Turkey normalised. Demand therefore remains well below 2019 levels.
![Russian ambassador says French consulates issued three-times fewer visas in 2025 than before Covid]()
To navigate these shifting requirements, organisations and individual travellers can turn to VisaHQ, an online visa consultancy that streamlines French visa submissions, tracks appointments and provides up-to-date document checklists; their France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) also allows applicants to calculate fees and processing times, which is particularly useful now that costs have doubled and lead-times fluctuate.
Nevertheless, corporates with Russian talent pipelines say appointment slots in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are routinely booked out three months in advance, forcing urgent travellers to apply in third countries. For French employers, the squeeze complicates project staffing, particularly in energy, luxury retail and IT services where Russian specialists are still in demand. Some have shifted to local-hire contracts or remote-first assignments to avoid visa bottlenecks. Others are testing France’s Tech Visa, which offers a five-year residence permit but requires a salary floor of € 45 000 and proof that the host company is certified by the Ministry of the Economy. On the political front, Paris says it will review the facilitation accord only “once Russia fulfils its international obligations,” a reference to both Ukraine and readmission cooperation. Until then, mobility teams should expect elevated refusal rates (currently around 16 %) and budget € 160–€ 200 per application, including biometric collection at outsourced centres. Practical tip: to mitigate scheduling risk, firms can lodge visa applications up to six months before travel, and recent cases show that presenting detailed project letters on corporate letterhead shortens processing at the French side.
To navigate these shifting requirements, organisations and individual travellers can turn to VisaHQ, an online visa consultancy that streamlines French visa submissions, tracks appointments and provides up-to-date document checklists; their France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) also allows applicants to calculate fees and processing times, which is particularly useful now that costs have doubled and lead-times fluctuate.
Nevertheless, corporates with Russian talent pipelines say appointment slots in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are routinely booked out three months in advance, forcing urgent travellers to apply in third countries. For French employers, the squeeze complicates project staffing, particularly in energy, luxury retail and IT services where Russian specialists are still in demand. Some have shifted to local-hire contracts or remote-first assignments to avoid visa bottlenecks. Others are testing France’s Tech Visa, which offers a five-year residence permit but requires a salary floor of € 45 000 and proof that the host company is certified by the Ministry of the Economy. On the political front, Paris says it will review the facilitation accord only “once Russia fulfils its international obligations,” a reference to both Ukraine and readmission cooperation. Until then, mobility teams should expect elevated refusal rates (currently around 16 %) and budget € 160–€ 200 per application, including biometric collection at outsourced centres. Practical tip: to mitigate scheduling risk, firms can lodge visa applications up to six months before travel, and recent cases show that presenting detailed project letters on corporate letterhead shortens processing at the French side.
