Long stay visa for studies : minors - under 18 years old

Minors of less than 18 years old are not requested to apply for their own residence permit in France.

Minors who hold a long stay visa to study in France are allowed to reside in France for up to 11 months according to the validity of their visa.

Yes except if you are a citizen of Switzerland, Andorra, Vatican, San Marino, Monaco or of the European Economic Area :

Also special rules apply for family members of an European Union citizen.

For security reasons, all applicants, except children under the age of 6, have to appear personally at the Consulate General of France in Boston.

The visa section is open to the public on an appointment basis, with no walk-ins allowed.

Make an appointment by clicking here

To use the system, the following configuration is required :  Firefox 1.0 and higher  Mozilla 1.7.8 and higher  Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher  Adobe Acrobat reader and higher  allow pop-ups

If you cannot print your confirmation receipt, it is not a problem Simply show up on the date and time of your appointment.

No appointment can be made by phone or by e-mailing us. If you are not able to attend, please free a slot by canceling your appointment.

Make sure you bring all the required documents when coming to the Consulate General.

 2 months for citizens from :

 It may take about 21 days for all other nationalities.


Applications cannot be processed more than 3 months ahead of time.

1. Original passport or travel document (+ ONE COPY of the identity pages) valid for at least three months after your return to the US. Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years ago, be valid for at least three months after your return to the US and have remaining at least 2 blank consecutive visas pages which face each other.

2. One application form filled out completely and signed.

3. One ID picture glued/stapled onto the application form (white background, full face, no glasses nor hat, closed mouth)

4. Processing fee

5. School documents :

• Notes transcript for the current school year;
• and registration in a French school (original + 1 photocopy)

6. Parental authorizationand copy of mother or father’s passport/photo ID

7. Host family agreement form filled out and signed by both parents of the host family in France with proof of legal status in France (photocopy of national identity card or residence card, if the host is a foreigner).

8. Proof of financial resources:

• If the stay is managed by an organization specialized in school and educational exchanges, a financial guarantee form must be filled out by this organization.
• if the parents provide the financial means for the stay in France: a letter from your bank stating you possess sufficient means to support your child with a minimum amount of $ 800 per month of stay in France and the financial guarantee form filled out.
• if the host family provides the financial means for the stay in France, they must fill out the financial guarantee form ("Engagement de prise en charge par l’accueillant en France") and they must include proof of income: avis d’imposition, bulletin de salaire, attestations bancaires, titre de propriété ou bail, etc.

9. A record of immunization or letter from the family doctor stating when the child received the anti poliomyelitis and the DTP (diphtheria, pertusis and tetanus) shots.

10. An insurance certificate for health and liability fully covering the student abroad (original + 1 photocopy). Your insurance letter must include : "Medical evacuation" and "Repatriation". [1]

11. If the child is not a U.S. citizen: a valid U.S. permanent residence card ("green card") or a valid U.S. visa with valid I-94 or valid I-20, or an Advance Parole document (original + 1 photocopy).

12. If you cannot pick up your visa by yourself, you can send to the French Consulate, a self-addressed prepaid EXPRESS MAIL envelope from all Postal Services (i.e: the US POST OFFICE, FEDEX, UPS, AIRBORNE EXPRESS etc.). You may use one envelope per family if you buy `flat rate`
Please do NOT stick the mailing label on the envelope and fill out as follows :

 The consular administration has full authority to evaluate and request more documents than those submitted by the applicant.

 Please be aware that submitting the aforementioned documents does not guarantee the approval of the visa.

 Please note that holders of Schengen visas are still subject to immigration control upon first entry into a Schengen country. The visa itself does not grant the right to enter the Schengen space.