Obtaining an appointment to file a visa application with a French consulate has become a real challenge in many countries. Outsourcing to private service providers and the high number of applications sometimes make it impossible to find a slot.
How the appointment system works
Most French embassies and consulates outsource appointments and the receipt of applications to private service providers such as TLScontact, VFS Global or Capago.
1. Identify the competent provider on the website of the French embassy or consulate in your country (section “Visas”).
2. Create an account on the provider’s website and select the type of visa (short stay, long stay, etc.).
3. Book a slot and pay the provider’s service fees, which are separate from visa fees.
Practical tips when no slot is available
- connect regularly, early in the morning or late in the evening, as slots are released at any time;
- check the provider’s announcements about new openings;
- contact the provider’s customer service by phone or email;
- keep evidence of every attempt: dated screenshots showing the absence of slots, emails, letters to the consulate.
When nothing works: the Administrative Court of Nantes
If, despite repeated efforts, you cannot obtain an appointment, you can bring an urgent application before the Administrative Court of Nantes, which has jurisdiction over visa matters, known as a référé “mesures utiles”. It asks the court to order the administration to give you an appointment.
You will need to show:
- urgency (medical reasons, job start date, university enrolment, family situation);
- the impossibility of obtaining an appointment, with evidence over a significant period.
The court usually rules within days or weeks.
A case from our practice
Our client, the mother of a French national, wished to visit her son in France for more than three months. From May 2024, we took every possible step to obtain an appointment: online attempts, emails, letters to the consulate. No slot was ever available. We had to refer the matter to the Administrative Court of Nantes. After our brief was communicated to the Ministry of the Interior, an appointment was finally granted.
It is regrettable that consular services malfunction to the point that court action becomes necessary simply to file a visa application. Many people face the same difficulties without the means or knowledge to go to court, which is particularly worrying when arrivals are urgent, for students or foreign workers.
Read also: Visa refusals in France: grounds, appeals and solutions.
Need help with your case?
FATOU BABOU AVOCAT assists individuals, families and companies with visas, family reunification, residence permits and appeals against refusals, before consulates, prefectures and courts.
- Bordeaux office: 11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France – +33 9 85 40 18 64 – contact@legalfb-avocat.fr
- Dakar office: 14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal – +221 77 173 69 05 / +221 33 844 29 16 – contact@fbavocat-sn.com
- Book an appointment online
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Rules, amounts and deadlines change regularly: always have your own situation checked by a lawyer.