France Long-Stay Visa 2026: VLS-TS, Family Reunification and Spouse Visa

Joining your spouse in France, or bringing your family over, is one of the most tightly regulated migration projects — and one of the most emotionally charged. The procedures exist, they succeed every year for tens of thousands of families, but they are demanding on documents and long on timelines. This guide walks through the two main family routes from Africa — the spouse-of-a-French-citizen visa and family reunification — then the step many people discover too late: validating the visa online after arrival. Official 2026 figures, with no false hopes and no needless discouragement.

Two very different logics: the spouse of a French citizen applies for the visa directly; for family reunification, it is the family member already in France who starts the procedure, and the visa only comes after the administration's approval.

The VLS-TS (long-stay visa serving as a residence permit) issued to the spouse of a French national acts as both entry visa and first one-year residence permit. It grants the right to work as soon as it is validated, with no separate work authorisation.

• a marriage recognised under French law: celebrated in France, or celebrated abroad and transcribed into the French civil registers;
• a spouse holding French nationality at the time of application;
• a genuine married life together (the consulate may request evidence and, in case of doubt, carry out checks).

Key point: there is no income requirement and no housing requirement for the spouse-of-a-French-citizen visa, unlike family reunification.

If your marriage was celebrated abroad, the visa application requires a marriage certificate transcribed by the French consular civil registry — a local marriage certificate is not enough. Transcription is requested from the competent French consulate (or the Central Civil Registry in Nantes, depending on the country). It may involve an interview of the spouses and can take from a few weeks to several months depending on the post. Plan ahead: it is often the transcription, not the visa, that stretches the calendar.

• passport and application form (filed via france-visas.gouv.fr, then the local service provider);
• a recent full copy of the transcribed marriage certificate (consulates generally require a copy issued within the last few months — check your consulate's checklist);
• proof of the spouse's French nationality (identity card or passport);
• evidence of married life together if the post requests it;
• compliant identity photos.

The long-stay visa for the spouse of a French citizen is free of charge: a full waiver of visa fees. Only possible service fees charged by the external provider (TLScontact, VFS, etc.) may remain payable depending on the country. Beware of any intermediary who charges for the “spouse visa” itself.

Visa processing most often takes from a few weeks to two months depending on the consulate and the season. But the timeline couples actually live through is the sum: transcription + appointment booking + processing. In several French-speaking African countries, the whole thing is measured in months. That is not a sign of refusal: it is the normal rhythm of the procedure.

Family reunification allows a non-European foreign national legally residing in France to bring over their adult spouse and minor children.

• Prior residence: having lived in France for at least 18 months under a residence permit valid for at least one year (12 months for Algerian nationals, governed by the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement).
• Income: a monthly average over the last 12 months of at least roughly €1,867 for a family of 2 to 3 people, €2,054 for 4 to 5 people, and €2,240 for 6 or more (service-public.fr figures, 2026). RSA, housing benefit and family allowances are excluded from the calculation. Recipients of the AAH or ASI disability benefits are exempt from the income condition.
• Housing: a minimum habitable surface depending on the geographic zone — for example 22 m² for 2 people in zone A bis/A, 24 m² in zones B1/B2, 28 m² in zone C, with additional square metres per extra person. OFII or the town hall may inspect the accommodation.

1. In France first: the resident files the application with OFII (online). OFII examines income and housing, then the prefect decides. The prefect has 6 months from the filing of the complete application; silence beyond that counts as an implicit refusal, which can be challenged.
2. Then at the consulate: once approval is obtained, the spouse and children apply for their long-stay visas at the French consulate in their country, with civil status documents (sometimes subject to verification, which can add months).

The most common — and most costly — mistake is reversing the order: applying for a visa before OFII approval leads to near-certain refusal.

The prefect's legal deadline is 6 months, but the full journey (filing, housing inspection, decision, then visas with document verification) frequently takes 6 to 12 months, sometimes more. Make no irreversible commitments (tickets, moving, school enrolment) before approval AND visa issuance. Start preparing complete civil status documents now, with certified translations where needed: it is the best way to avoid losing extra months.

A refusal (explicit or implicit) must be reasoned on request and can be challenged: an administrative appeal, then an appeal to the administrative court within the deadlines. Many refusals based on incomplete files end favourably after a careful new application.

The last step, often discovered too late: the VLS-TS must be validated online within 3 months of arriving in France, on the official platform administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr (ANEF). Without validation, your stay becomes irregular after 3 months and you can no longer re-enter France without a new visa.

Validation involves paying a residence tax. Watch the 2026 amounts: since 1 May 2026 (Article 128 of the 2026 Finance Law), the standard rate rose from €200 to €300 (reduced rate €100, notably for students). Payment is made online by card, or with a tax stamp bought on timbres.impots.gouv.fr.

1. Civil status documents first. Marriage transcription (route 1) or verifiable birth and marriage certificates (route 2): this is where months are won — or lost.
2. No intermediary can “guarantee” a visa. These procedures are free (spouse of a French citizen) or charged at official rates; anyone selling you an outcome is selling hot air, sometimes fraud.
3. Always check your consulate's official checklist: document lists vary by country. To place your case among visa types, see our visas page.

These procedures are long, but they are rights, framed by law. A genuine marriage, a complete file and perseverance lead, in the vast majority of cases, to a favourable outcome.

• Visa applications and country pages — france-visas.gouv.fr
• Family reunification, conditions and amounts — service-public.gouv.fr (sheet F11166)
• Residence of the foreign spouse of a French citizen — service-public.gouv.fr (sheet F1764)
• OFII family reunification procedure — ofii.fr
• Residence tax rates as of 1 May 2026 (Law No. 2026-103, art. 128) — prefectures, e.g. loire.gouv.fr