New Visa Application Procedure at the French Consulate in Kolkata
The French Consulate in Kolkata is pleased to introduce a new facility to meet
the ever-increasing demand for French Visa among Indians. It is our constant
effort to provide greater comfort and convenience to our visa applicants.
W.e.f. 7th March, 2011 the applications residing in Eastern India & have their passport issued in Eastern India which falls under the jurisdiction of French Consulate in Kolkata i.e. Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, all seven North Eastern States (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh) & Chhattisgarh will have to submit their visa applications at the France Application Center Kolkata without appointment at the following address 3rd Floor Om Towers, 32 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata - 700 071.
If any applicant is having his or her passport issued from any where outside Eastern India or Chhattisgarh will have to show a 6 months address proof in Eastern India & then only they can apply from French Consulate in Kolkata.Proof can be an original letter from Employer, school or University or 6 months bank statement stating their address in Eastern India & the date of residing should also be mentioned.
The submission timings are 0800-1200 Hrs, 1300-1500 Hrs Monday to Friday except Holiday specified by the French Consulate in Kolkata and on the last working day of each fortnight. All applications will be assessed at The French Consulate in Kolkata.
SCHENGEN visa has to be obtained from the Consulate of the country where the MAIN PURPOSE OF TRAVEL lies. W.e.f. 12th December 2008, Switzerland has also joined the Schengen treaty making it a total of 25.
The list of Schengen countries are as follows:
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Note: In case of travel to multiple Schengen countries, please make your application to the Embassy where you will be staying for the maximum number of days. In case of equal stay one has to apply at the Schengen country which is the first port of entry.
Submission of Visa application and collection of passports can be done by the following:
1)Applicant himself.
2)Travel Agents authorised
Please note that for any submission or retrieval of passport/s to or from VFS ,an applicant/representative has to necessarily carry a copy of the identification (passport or a driving license or PAN card or voter-identity card ).The photocopy of the identification will have to be attached to the file at the time of its submission. In case a representative is coming to submit the application or collection of passport he needs to carry a photo id of himself and a proof establishing his relationship with the applicant and an authority letter from the applicant.
A representative cannot be a non listed Travel Agent.
n case the passport is submitted by a travel agency authorized by The Embassy of France, New Delhi in addition to the above-mentioned procedure, complete address of the travel agency, the name of the managing director, his phone, mobile numbers and e-mail address would also have to be provided.
Processing time will be minimum 15 working days (Excluding day of submission at VFS).
All applications for DOM which include Guadeloupe(St Marteen), Martinique, Guyana and Reunion (processing time will be minimum 5 working days excluding the day of submission at VFS)and TOM which includes Wallis and Futana, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, French Polynesia, Nouvelle Caledonia and Mayotte, (processing time will be minimum 5 working days excluding ding the day of submission at VFS) will submit their application at the France Visa Application Centre Kolkata.
"Visa applications can't be processed and accepted from people (including Indian nationals) visiting India and wishing to go to France from India -even on their way back to their country of residence-. Should they want to visit France while visiting India, they need to request their Schengen visa before departing their country of residence. If there is an emergency reason for going to France while in India, the applicant has to get in touch with VFS and explain the case"
Student's visa applications are accepted at VFS France Kolkata Centre.
W.E.F. 01/11/2006 all applicants except first time traveler (travelling first time to a Schengen country) while applying for a French visa will be required to fill Visa Insurance Undertaking form in addition to the visa application form.
It is mandatory to have an Overseas Medical Insurance with a longer validity. The valid of an insurance should cover the traveling dates as well as should have atleast 10-15 days more after the return to India.
Note: Applicants can now get their Visa Application Form filled in at the France Visa Application Centre. The charges are just Rs 100/- (inclusive of all taxes).
Important-Passport which are more than ten years old as on date of visa application will not be accepted for visa processing. Kindly be informed that according to the French consulate Kolkata we require 3 blank pages in the passport, where 2 blank pages needs to be face to face & the last third page can be anywhere in the passport.
Marriage certificate has become a mandatory document for all the people applying through France for Schengen visa.Birth certificate for any child below 18years is mandatory.
Click on respective purpose of travel from the links below for more details:
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