Validate your VLS-TS visa on ANEF
Mandatory within 3 months. €100 fee, by card or electronic stamp.
VLS-TS student visa validation fee100 €By card online or electronic stamp at a tobacconist.
Verified on 07/10/2026 · Service-public A18881Source
Deadline to validate the VLS-TS3 months after arrivalAfter that, you must apply for a new visa to return to France.
Verified on 07/10/2026 · Service-public F2231Source
How to do it
You have 3 months after your arrival to validate your visa. Without validation, you are not legally resident and you cannot come back to France if you leave the Schengen area; after this deadline, you have to apply for a new visa.
- 1Go to the ANEF website, choose « Je valide mon VLS-TS » and enter your visa number (9 digits, top right of the visa sticker).
- 2Copy the visa details exactly as they appear on the sticker: issue and validity dates, then the reason for stay and the regulatory reference shown in the « Remarques » section.
- 3Fill in the additional details (family situation, phone number, email address) and confirm your email address with the code you receive.
- 4Enter your date of entry into France and your address in France; if you are staying with someone, tick « Je suis hébergé » and give your host's name.
- 5Check the summary, then pay the tax online by bank card or by entering the 16 digits of your electronic tax stamp.
- 6Download the validation confirmation and read it: it contains your foreign national identifier and tells you whether you need to attend an OFII appointment.
What you need
- Your passport with the visa sticker
- Your date of entry into France
- Your full address in France (and your host's name if you are staying with someone)
- An email address you check and a phone number
- A bank or prepaid card, or an electronic tax stamp for foreign nationals (timbre fiscal électronique)
Tips
- Complete the process in one go: if it is interrupted, you have to start all over again.
- Check that the reason for stay and the regulatory reference match the « Remarques » section of your visa exactly: a wrong reason later prevents you from applying for renewal online.
- Without a card, buy an electronic tax stamp (16-digit number) at a tobacconist's (bureau de tabac) or a tax office: paper stamps are not accepted.
- Write down your visa's end date now: renewal is requested between 4 and 2 months before, on the ANEF (step I9).
Deadline
Visa validation3 months after you arrive in France
A question about this step?
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