French visa for Russian nationals in 2026: Schengen and the long-stay D visa

A Russian national needs a Schengen C visa for a trip to France of up to 90 days, and a long-stay D visa tied to a specific ground to move there. Both are filed the same way: the France-Visas form, lodging at one of 18 VFS Global centres, and a decision by the Consulate General of France in Moscow. The Schengen fee is €90, the D visa €99, plus €36 to the visa centre.

Three changes matter for Russians in 2026. Since November 2025, applicants living in Russia get multiple-entry visas only in narrow groups; everyone else gets a single-entry visa per trip. Since 14 April 2025 France has not accepted non-biometric passports, except those of children under 15. And at the border, stamps have given way to the electronic Entry/Exit System, EES.

Schengen C or a D visa: which one you need

The line between the two is drawn by length and purpose. Up to 90 days in any 180 — tourism, visiting friends, a business meeting, viewing a flat or a school — calls for a Schengen C visa. More than 90 days calls for a D visa, and it is issued not “to live there” in general but on a ground: income without work, a talent passport, study or family.

If you are planning a move, a Schengen visa will not stand in for a D visa. Under Article L412-1 of CESEDA the first residence card is issued on production of a long-stay visa, and the exceptions are narrow. A Schengen visa is good for scouting, but the D visa is still obtained from your country of residence.

Where to apply: the Consulate General in Moscow, VFS Global and the place-of-residence rule

Every visa decision on applications lodged in Russia is taken by the Consulate General of France in Moscow alone. Documents and biometrics are taken by 18 VFS Global centres, by appointment only (France-Visas):

• Five days a week: Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Rostov-on-Don. The Moscow centre is at 64 Prospekt Mira and accepts files from 9:00 to 16:00.
• Three days a week: Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Perm, Samara, Saratov, Ufa and Vladivostok.
• Not every category at once. Which visas are being accepted right now is shown by the VFS booking module, and France-Visas refers applicants straight to it.
• Who lodges the file. The applicant in person, or a parent for a child. If fingerprints were taken within the last 59 months, close relatives or a representative with a notarised power of attorney can lodge it.

If you do not live in Russia. The EU Visa Code ties the application to the place of lawful residence: under Article 6 it is examined by the consulate whose district covers the place where you live on a residence, work or study permit. Someone who is merely present in a country can apply there only with a justification, and the consulate is not obliged to accept it. A Russian with a residence permit in Armenia, Serbia or the UAE applies for a French Schengen visa there. How this works in practice is covered in our article on Schengen visas in Yerevan.

How much a French visa costs in 2026

• Why €90 and not €35. The EU–Russia visa facilitation agreement has been suspended in full for Russian nationals since 12 September 2022 (Council Decision 2022/1500). Russians pay the full fee under Article 16 of the Visa Code; the €35 rate in the France-Visas grid remains for nationals of Armenia, Georgia and several other countries (fee grid).
• How it is paid. The VFS service fee is set in euros but charged in roubles, in cash or by card at the centre. It is not refunded unless you decide not to apply before your biometrics are taken.
• What a D visa costs in full. The consular and service fees are only the start: after arrival there is a tax on validating a VLS-TS and a fee for the card. All the amounts are in the article on how to move to France.

Documents for a tourist visa and insurance

The exact list for your purpose is produced by the assistant-visa tool on France-Visas once the form is filled in. For a tourist the core is always the same (service-public, Visa Code):

• Passport. Biometric, issued no more than 10 years ago and valid for at least three months after you leave Schengen.
• Purpose and accommodation. A hotel booking, a lease or an attestation d’accueil from your host in France, and return tickets.
• Money. The service-public benchmark per day of stay: €120 without a hotel booking, €65 with one, €32.50 with an attestation d’accueil. The bank statement should show a history, not a top-up the day before.
• Insurance. Cover of at least €30,000 for the whole Schengen area and the whole trip. As a rule it is taken out in your country of residence.
• A letter from your employer or papers on your business, pension or studies — whatever explains why you will go back.
• Children. A copy of the birth certificate. If a child travels without the parents, or with one parent while the other neither applies at the same time nor holds a valid Schengen visa, a notarised parental consent with the dates and destination, no older than three months.

How to apply: form, appointment, timing, status

1. The form. Fill it in on France-Visas, which also gives you the document list and the fee. Print it and sign it.
2. A VFS appointment. Online or through the VFS Global Russia call centre, with an email address: the confirmation letter has to be printed and brought along.
3. When to apply. Under Article 9 of the Visa Code, no earlier than six months and, as a rule, no later than 15 days before the trip. The decision comes within 15 calendar days, up to 45 in individual cases (Article 23). Allow six to eight weeks, counting the appointment and the return of the passport.
4. Visa status. Track it in your France-Visas account under «Mes demandes». If you chose delivery, the passport is sent to the address you gave.
5. If you are refused. The reasons are given on the form under Article 32 of the Visa Code, and the consulate offers no further explanation. You can ask the Consul General in Moscow to reconsider (in French; two months of silence means refusal) or go straight to the visa refusal appeals board (CRRV) in Nantes within two months of receiving the refusal (France-Visas). A French refusal does not close the door to other Schengen countries.

On statistics: according to the European Commission, 679,000 short-stay visa applications for all Schengen countries were lodged in Russia in 2025, and 6.4% were refused, down from 7.5% a year earlier (European Commission, 28 May 2026). That release gives no separate 2025 figure for the French consulate.

Multiple-entry visas for Russians: what changed in 2025

The Visa Code’s normal approach is the “cascade” under Article 24: after three lawfully used visas within two years, a one-year multiple-entry visa, then two years, then five. For Russians who live in Russia and apply there, the European Commission set this aside by Decision C(2025) 7552 of 6 November 2025. Multiple-entry visas now go only to:

• Close relatives — spouses, children and parents of EU citizens or of Russians lawfully living in the EU: for one year, provided three visas were obtained and lawfully used in the previous two years.
• Transport workers — seafarers, truck and bus drivers, train crews: for nine months after two visas in two years.
• Justified individual cases — people whose reliability is beyond doubt: the decision names independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society representatives.

Everyone else gets a single-entry visa for a specific trip. For frequent travel that means a new application and another €126 per person each time. The decision covers applications lodged in Russia; outside it, the consulate of your place of lawful residence decides, and it checks that residence strictly.

ETIAS and EES: what changes at the border

• Russians do not need ETIAS. It is an electronic authorisation for foreigners who enter Schengen without a visa, and it will cost €20. Russians need a visa, so ETIAS does not concern them now or after launch. As at October 2026 the system is not yet running: the EU says it will announce the start date several months in advance (official ETIAS website).
• EES is already running. The Entry/Exit System was phased in at Schengen’s external borders from 12 October 2025 and fully replaced stamps from 10 April 2026 (European Commission). It records passport data, biometrics and the dates and places of entry and exit, and counts days in Schengen itself, so going over 90 in 180 shows up at once.

A D visa to move: which one to choose

A D visa is issued for three months to a year. A VLS-TS serves as a residence permit in its own right and is validated online within three months of arrival; under the talent passport the visa is issued with a note to collect a card, and the card is multi-year from the start (France-Visas). The ground is chosen by what you will live on in France:

The filing procedure, VLS-TS validation, OFII and the first costs are covered in the article on how to move to France, and the comparison with Spanish routes in Spain or France.

Example: a family of four — a trip and a move

Two parents and children aged 14 and 9 live in Moscow. First, two weeks in France; a year later, a move.

The trip money is counted on the service-public benchmark per applicant; without a hotel booking the same trip needs €120 a day, or €6,720 for four. Everyone needs insurance with at least €30,000 of cover.

For the move, the ground decides everything. If the family lives on income from capital, the visitor route fits: work in France is not allowed, and since the official page sets no separate amount for a spouse or children, resources are shown for each applicant, with a margin. If one parent starts or buys a business, the route is the talent passport porteur de projet with €30,000 in the project: the spouse and children get talent-famille cards at the same time, without family reunification. French tax residence generally starts with the move, so the structure of income and capital is best settled before the visa application.

If you are weighing a scouting trip against going straight for a D visa, describe your situation — we will review free of charge which ground suits your family.

Frequently asked questions

Do Russians need a visa for France in 2026?

Yes. A trip of up to 90 days in any 180 requires a Schengen C visa, and a move requires a long-stay D visa on a specific ground. There is no visa-free entry and no ETIAS for Russian nationals. Applications go through France-Visas and VFS Global centres, and the Consulate General of France in Moscow decides.

How much does a French visa cost for Russians?

A Schengen visa costs €90, €45 for children aged 6 to 11 and nothing under 6. A D visa costs €99, or €50 for students through Études en France. On top of that comes the VFS Global service fee of €36 per file, charged in roubles.

How long does a French visa take?

Under the Visa Code a Schengen decision is taken within 15 calendar days, extended to 45 in individual cases. You can apply no earlier than six months and, as a rule, no later than 15 days before the trip. Counting the visa centre appointment, it is sensible to start six to eight weeks ahead.

What documents are needed for a French visa?

A biometric passport valid for three months after departure, the France-Visas form, accommodation bookings and tickets, insurance with at least €30,000 of cover, proof of funds and a letter from your employer. The benchmark for funds is €65 a day with a hotel booking and €120 without one. The exact list for your purpose comes from assistant-visa.

Where can I apply for a French visa in Moscow and the regions?

At 18 VFS Global centres, by appointment only. The Moscow centre is at 64 Prospekt Mira. Eight centres, including St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Kazan, work five days a week, and the other ten three days a week.

Do Russians get multiple-entry visas for France?

Since November 2025, applicants living in Russia generally do not: under the European Commission’s decision, multiple-entry visas go to close relatives of EU citizens and of Russians living in the EU after three used visas, and to transport workers. Everyone else gets a single-entry visa per trip.

How do I check my French visa status?

In your France-Visas account, under «Mes demandes». If you chose delivery when applying, the passport is sent to your address. If you are refused, the reasons are on the form, and the decision can be appealed within two months.

Can you move to France on a Schengen visa?

No. Under Article L412-1 of CESEDA the first residence card is issued on production of a long-stay D visa, and the exceptions are narrow. A Schengen visa is used for a scouting trip, while the D visa is obtained in your country of residence on a specific ground: visitor, talent passport, study or family.

Official sources

• France-Visas: applying in Russia, VFS Global centres, fees, status and appeals; consular fee grid; types of long-stay visa
• EU Visa Code (Regulation 810/2009), Articles 6, 9, 15, 16, 23, 24; Council Decision (EU) 2022/1500; Commission Decision C(2025) 7552 on multiple-entry visas for Russians
• service-public: entry conditions, insurance and daily funds; CESEDA, Articles L412-1 onwards
• ETIAS: official website; European Commission: EES fully operational from 10 April 2026; European Commission: 2025 visa statistics