Collect your passport with the visa
Long-stay visa serving as a residence permit, marked “étudiant”.
Appeal against a visa refusal (CRRV)30 days after the refusal is notifiedIf the consulate does not answer within 2 months, the refusal is implicit. If the CRRV rejects the appeal: 2 months to go to the administrative court of Nantes.
Verified on 08/10/2026 · Service-public F16162Source
How to do it
If you are refused, appeal deadlines are short and strict: read the official Service-public page "Visa de long séjour" (section "Quel recours en cas de refus de visa ?") straight away and act without delay.
- 1As soon as France-Visas tells you your passport is ready, collect it yourself: nobody can do it for you.
- 2Go on the day and at the time given when you submitted your file, with your visa fee receipt.
- 3Before you leave the counter, check the visa: your name, passport number, validity dates and the "étudiant" (student) mention.
- 4Your VLS-TS visa counts as a residence permit, but only once validated: plan to validate it on the ANEF within 3 months of arriving and to pay the 100 € tax.
- 5If you are refused, read the reasons: every visa refusal must state its grounds. You can ask the consulate to review its decision (recours gracieux) and apply by post to the Commission de recours contre les décisions de refus de visa (CRRV).
What you need
- Visa fee receipt
- Identity document
- Notice or collection date given when you submitted your file
Tips
- Make copies straight away (paper and digital) of the visa page and your passport.
- An appeal to the CRRV is compulsory before going to the administrative court. It must be written in French, signed, reasoned (facts and law) and come with any useful documents.
- Once you have the visa, you can buy your ticket and finish preparing to leave.
A question about this step?
“Collect your passport with the visa”: ask Mbeng, the answer comes from the guides and official sources.