New French visa processor for Americans: what changes?
Appointments will remain available in 10 US cities
Applicants will still need to use the France Visas website
Alexander Shutski / Shutterstock
Visa applications for Americans visiting France will be managed by a new third-party contractor.
From April 18, TLSContact will take over from VFS Global for visa processing purposes in the United States.
TLSContact processes French visas for several countries, including the UK, although this is the first time it will work in the US. The contract is reportedly for five years.
VFS Global will continue to process visa applications for Americans for other countries, including the UK and some in the EU.
Applicants will still need to use France Visas to begin the process before booking an appointment with TLSContact.
Visas will continue to be approved or denied by the French Consulate General in Washington.
TLSContact will run 10 offices across the United States in the following locations:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC, the same ten cities as VFS Global do currently.
However, the location of visa centres within the cities have changed – you can see the old and new addresses on the official French Visas US website.
Read more: Is there a simple renewal process for six-month French visas?
What changes for visa applicants?
Visa appointments will continue to be held at VFS Global offices until April 17, 2025.
Following this, appointments will only be available at TLSContact offices.
The option to book appointments at both the new TLSContact offices and (where applicable) the current VFS Global offices are available on the France Visas website (provided an application has been started).
For passports sent off as part of applications under VFS Global but not received before the offices closed, documents are to be collected from the corresponding TLSContact office in the city to which you applied.
Note this does not apply in cases where applicants opt to pay for passports to be sent to a private address.
Other than this, the process for a visa appointment will remain unchanged.
Read more: What happens at an in-person appointment for a French visa?
Will prices change?
Visa fees set by the French government are not set to change, however the additional service fees collected by the processor are.
TLSContact fees are €45 for a short-stay visa and €220 for a long-stay visa.
Fees are payable in US$ (despite being shown in euros) and both processors offer additional services, courier delivery etc, that come at an extra cost.
Read more: Update: Americans protest possible consulate closures across France
