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Requesting a French visa from abroad will be done through the consulate subcontractor. In the UK, this is TLS while in the US, Australia, South Africa and a few other countries, applications will be processed by VFS. While the agents are usually very helpful and the aim of the subcontractors is to help applicants complete a successful visa application, some applications do get turned down. Because of the plethora of visas and the different individual circumstances, it is difficult to pinpoint the leading cause of application failure for French visas.

However, if you are looking to apply for a French long-term visitor visa, an ideal visa for spending some of one's retirement in France or for a sabbatical or multi-stay year, there are two main reasons why applications get rejected:

• Inadequate proof of聽income and/or
• Lack of聽

Reason 1: Inadequate proof of聽income

To satisfy the income requirements you will need to show earnings that is equivalent to聽the minimum wage in France. This is known as the聽SMIC聽(le聽salaire聽minimum de聽croissance) and is currently聽around聽1300鈧�聽per month.聽Couples have a leeway and if you are applying as a couple you are required to show means of around 2000鈧� per month rather than 2600鈧�.

Different sources of income, for example pensions, dividends, rental income or interest from savings, can be combined to make up the required amount. Even if after combining all sources of income the applicant is still slightly short, there's no need to panic as any available savings can also help you qualify for the visa. These savings must be 鈥榓vailable' in form of liquidity which means聽having a property聽or assets won't help but money available from a savings account will.

The savings available will need to be enough to allow monthly聽withdrawals聽that are at least equivalent to聽the SMIC.聽Given that we tend to go through savings quicker than salaries,聽the visa聽center will聽often require amounts slightly over SMIC levels for a聽12 month聽period but as long as聽you can show you won't be a burden to the state you聽should be able to qualify.

Reason 2: Non compliant medical insurance

cover can prove slightly more complicated.聽Unless you have a British state pension, you will most likely聽require a policy that provides cover equivalent to that of聽the French national healthcare system (la聽s茅cu). The 聽official website clearly states this聽requirement but the specifics of the type of policy required聽aren't clearly聽defined聽and many聽applicants only discover that聽their policies are聽non-compliant during the interview聽process.聽This means that you will be required to undertake聽another interview as the聽application聽will be聽turned down聽although聽most of the聽time聽the center will offer another date/appointment rather than a direct rejection.

Thanks to post-Brexit reciprocal agreements, the British S1 is still聽acceptable聽but it's only available if you have a state pension.聽However, securing an S1 before聽actually becoming聽resident in France is not possible so you'll have to ask for a confirmation letter (stating that you're eligible) that will act as 鈥榩roof of medical cover' for your interview at the visa center.聽

A聽fail-safe聽tip is to ensure the insurance聽certificate (or COI聽- Certificate of insurance) is perfectly clear to avoid the TLS or VFS agent having to dig into the insurance documentation.

In fact, they generally prefer not to do this, instead simply rejecting the insurance cover and getting you to do the leg work. If you聽can highlight the聽parts聽they want to see, this will make their job聽easier聽and your application is more likely to succeed.

So聽just聽what聽do they expect to see on the insurance certificate or COI?

• The coverage date should match the duration of the聽visa
• In-patient and out-patient benefits should be聽mentioned
• No excess or deductible elements are mentioned (ideally the policy should state that you're covered 鈥渇rom the 1st euro鈥� as the French say
• Repatriation should be聽included
• Cover provided should be聽at least聽30k (100k+ is safer as some centers are more picky than others for completely unknown reasons)
• No medical exclusions should be mentioned and they will expect to see that you've paid for your policy. This means they require 鈥減roof of payment鈥澛爏o do make sure you also have this before your meeting at the visa聽center.

If you comply with these requirements your application should go smoothly and the last thing you will need to do is remember to activate your visa聽once聽you are in France at the OFII.

Pro-tip:聽Some policies are systematically聽declined聽and these include travel insurance, Schengen insurance, repatriation plans, policies with any type of excess (such as deductible elements, co-pay or co-insurance) and emergency only plans.

Conclusion

When applying for a French long-term visitor visa, inadequate proof of income and non-compliant health insurance are the top reasons for application failure. To meet the income requirements, you need to show earnings equivalent to the minimum wage in France and have sufficient savings. Health insurance must provide coverage equivalent to the French national healthcare system. Insurance policies with deductibles or excess elements, as well as travel or emergency-only plans, are usually declined. Make sure to have clear documentation and proof of payment for your insurance policy. Finding the right policy can be challenging but some insurance brokers are focused on providing visa compatible聽policies.

Here at , we've been helping the聽English speaking聽community relocate to France and other countries in the EU since 2015.

If you need assistance with your we're also happy to help.聽

And if you're looking for the best plan in your situation you can use our . This will only display options that have been 鈥榖attle-tested' with other customers in the same situation / age group & medical category as you,聽so聽try us out or give us a call on +33 5 33 06 29 47.

Bienvenue en France聽!