Travel
Under the terms of the Schengen Agreement and the Community Code on Visas, you are entitled to enter and travel throughout the entire Schengen Area with a visa or residence permit issued in France, subject to certain conditions.
Within the Schengen Area
Your valid long-stay visa or residence permit entitles you to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days.If you need to spend longer than three months in another Schengen Area country, you must apply for a visa from the embassy of the country concerned in France (unless your residence permit is marked “Mobilité” – see below).
> List of the Schengen States
Please note
The residence permits “Étudiant - Programme de mobilité” and “Chercheur – Mobilité” entitle the holder to spend up to 360 days in another country of the Schengen Area without needing to apply for a visa. The procedure varies from one country to another, so we recommend seeking advice from the establishment where you will be spending this time as soon as you can.
The residence permits “Étudiant - Programme de mobilité” and “Chercheur – Mobilité” entitle the holder to spend up to 360 days in another country of the Schengen Area without needing to apply for a visa. The procedure varies from one country to another, so we recommend seeking advice from the establishment where you will be spending this time as soon as you can.
Crossing the Schengen external borders
You may leave and then re-enter the Schengen Area if you hold one of the following documents, which must be still valid when you return:- C-type Schengen visa (if the mention "MULT" appears in the field "Number of entries")
- D-type Long Stay visa (VLS), accompanied by proof of online validation (pdf) after 3 months in France.
- Residence permit
- "Autorisation Provisoire de Séjour" - APS
- "Récépissé" (renewal only), accompanied by the old expired permit
- "Attestation de décision favorable" or "Attestation de prolongation d'instruction" if the mention "autorise le franchissement des frontières de l’espace Schengen" appears, accompanied by the old expired residence permit
- "Titre de voyage" (humanitarian protection or refugees)
Accompanying family members
To travel with their parents outside France, foreign children aged under 18 must hold either a valid visa or a Travel Document for Foreign Minors ("Document de Circulation pour Étranger Mineur" - DCEM). This document must be requested from the prefecture in your place of residence.
> Find out more
To travel with their parents outside France, foreign children aged under 18 must hold either a valid visa or a Travel Document for Foreign Minors ("Document de Circulation pour Étranger Mineur" - DCEM). This document must be requested from the prefecture in your place of residence.
> Find out more
Please note
In case of a theft or loss abroad, you must first obtain a return visa ("visa de retour") from the nearest French consulate before applying for a duplicate online.
In case of a theft or loss abroad, you must first obtain a return visa ("visa de retour") from the nearest French consulate before applying for a duplicate online.
The list of all the residence permits allowing to cross the Schengen borders can be found on the European Commission website ("List of residence permits"):
> Schengen Area on the European Commission
Updated on July 1, 2022
