France Long Stay Visa for Americans: the guide to getting approved in 2026
If you are an American planning to stay in France longer than 90 days, this guide is for you. It is detailed, practical, and written for real people who want a real life in France, without turning paperwork into a second full time job.
At some point, every future France expat has the same moment.
You are looking at flights, daydreaming about Sunday markets, already imagining your first apartment with those dramatic French windows.
Then you remember the 90 day rule.
And suddenly your “romantic move to France” turns into “wait, what is a VLS TS and why does everyone sound stressed when they talk about it.”
Before we talk documents, let’s talk about what you are really worried about
Most visa stress comes from three fears that nobody says out loud.
- Fear number one: getting refused for something that feels small.
- Fear number two: losing months because your timeline was optimistic.
- Fear number three: arriving in France and realizing the visa was only the beginning.
All three are valid. All three are manageable.
France is paperwork first, and the visa process rewards one thing above everything else: a file that is easy to understand quickly.
Your goal is not to prove you are a good person. Your goal is to make your situation instantly reviewable.
Long stay visa basics for Americans
If you want to stay in France more than 90 days, you generally need a long stay visa.
In practice, Americans usually end up in one of these tracks:
The long stay visitor visa (the classic choice for retirees and extended stays)
This is the common route when you want to live in France without working locally.
This is the route that covers a lot of real life situations:
- Retirement in France
- A long sabbatical
- Living off savings or passive income
- A couple moving together where one person has income abroad
If your plan is retirement focused, you will also want this companion guide because it covers the bigger puzzle: visa, healthcare, taxes, timeline.
Student, employee, talent, entrepreneur
These exist, and sometimes they are the right fit. They also tend to require tighter alignment between your documents and your declared plan.
If you are unsure which category fits, here is the existing EasyFranceNow long stay visa guide.
This article you are reading now is the “human version” of that topic.
The hidden question behind every long stay visa decision
Consulates are not trying to catch you doing something wrong.
They are trying to reduce uncertainty.
They want to answer three questions without doing detective work.
Question 1: Do we understand why you are coming?
This is where people overthink the cover letter.
A strong explanation is simple and calm.
I want to live in France for X months.
I have the resources to support myself.
I have housing arrangements.
I have health coverage.
I will respect the conditions of the visa category.
That’s it. No drama. No poetry. France loves clarity.
Question 2: Can you fund your life in France for real?
This is the part where Americans often feel unfairly judged, especially if income is complex.
Your job is to make your finances readable.
Imagine a reviewer with five minutes and fifty files. If your money story requires interpretation, your file slows down.
A strong file usually includes a short one page summary that answers:
- Where does the money come from
- How much comes in each month
- How much you have accessible right now
- How that supports your stay in France
Question 3: Will you be covered and stable while you are here?
Health insurance and housing proof are where “I have it” and “I can prove it cleanly” become two different realities.
France cares about documentation, dates, and coherence.
If your insurance dates do not match your intended stay, you create a question mark.
If your housing plan looks improvised, you create a question mark.
Question marks create delays.
Proof of funds: how to make your finances feel France ready
Americans often approach this like a U.S. application.
They attach a lot of pages and assume the volume speaks for itself.
In France, volume creates noise.
A better approach is to lead with a simple map of your money, then back it up with statements.
If you are retired, pensions and Social Security are usually straightforward when presented cleanly.
If you have investment income or savings, the goal is to show accessibility and stability, without burying the reviewer under screenshots.
If you are planning to rent in France, you will need this same “make it readable” approach later, because landlords and agencies evaluate files in a very similar way. This guide helps you build a France friendly file.
Health insurance: the part everyone has, and still messes up
This is classic.
People genuinely buy insurance.
Then they submit a certificate that looks like marketing.
A visa reviewer wants an official looking document that clearly states:
- Coverage dates
- Coverage territory that includes France
- Medical and hospitalization coverage
- Repatriation if applicable
- The name of the insured person, matching the passport
The mistake is rarely the insurance itself. The mistake is submitting proof that feels vague.
If you want your file to feel solid, treat your insurance proof like a contract summary, not a website screenshot.
Housing proof: you do not need the perfect apartment, you need a coherent plan
Another stress point is housing, because people think:
"I need a signed lease before I have a visa."
In reality, many people apply with an initial housing plan that is reasonable, documented, and aligned with their timeline.
What matters is that your housing story matches the rest of your file.
Your intended arrival date matches your accommodation dates.
Your budget matches your financial story.
Your plan sounds like something a real person would do.
If you are also planning to rent long term in France, read this article first because it explains the real process and how to avoid wasting weeks.
The appointment: treat it like a packaging event, not a conversation
This is a mindset shift that saves people a lot of pain.
Your appointment is rarely the moment you convince someone.
It is the moment your file gets checked for completeness and consistency.
So you want to arrive with:
- A dossier that follows the expected order
- Clean copies, clear originals, nothing messy
- A calm attitude and a simple narrative
If you show up with a file that looks like it belongs in France, your stress level drops immediately.
Also, your passport photo will follow you longer than some relationships. Plan accordingly.
Your visa appointment usually happens at TLScontact. It’s not the consulate itself, it’s the visa center that takes your biometrics and receives your dossier, then forwards everything to the French authorities who decide. In real life, this means you can do hours perfecting your France-Visas application, and the process still doesn’t truly move until you’ve booked and attended that TLScontact appointment. Treat it like a packaging moment: make it easy for a tired human to understand your plan in two minutes.
After approval: the part people forget to plan for
Many Americans feel an emotional crash right after approval.
They think they finished the hard part.
Then they land in France and realize there is a sequence of admin steps that unlock everything else: proof of address, banking, phone plan, utilities, healthcare onboarding, and the general “becoming operational” process.
If you want the practical checklist for your first month, this is the guide to bookmark: Moving to France as an American
This is also where people realize visas and housing overlap heavily. Your visa gets you in. Your housing and admin setup gets you stable.
A realistic timeline that protects your sanity
If your target move date is important, build buffer.
The most common avoidable disaster is booking flights and assuming the appointment system will match your optimism.
A safer planning rhythm looks like this:
First, pick the visa category that matches your real life.
Then, build a dossier that is coherent, not just complete.
Then, take the appointment once your file is ready to be stress tested.
Then, prepare for post arrival steps so you do not lose momentum in France.
You will still have admin. You will also have control.
When it makes sense to get help
If your file is simple, many people do this alone.
If your file has complexity, a spouse, mixed income, self employed income, multiple accounts, tight timelines, or prior confusion, support often pays for itself because it prevents rework and lost months.
EasyFranceNow’s visa admin support page is here.
