Validating your VLS-TS: deadline and tax
Enter the visa purpose, your arrival date and the visa end date: the calculator gives the validation deadline and the card timetable.
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Validate the VLS-TS online by
5 December 2026
| Validation tax | €100 |
| Card application from | 1 May 2027 |
| Card application by | 1 July 2027 |
| Stamps for the first card | €150 |
Without validation within 3 months, your stay becomes irregular and the visa no longer lets you re-enter the Schengen area.
Rules and sourcesThe long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS, visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour), valid for 4 to 12 months, spares you a prefecture visit on arrival on one condition: you validate it online within 3 months of entering France and pay the tax. Since 1 May 2026 it costs €300 at the standard rate, for instance for an employee or a French national's spouse, and €100 at the reduced rate, for a student, an au pair or a seasonal worker; it comes on top of the visa fee paid at the consulate. A student who arrived on 5 September 2026 must validate by 5 December 2026. Without validation your stay becomes irregular and the visa no longer lets you back into the Schengen area after a trip. To stay beyond the visa, the first-card application goes in no later than 2 months before it ends: 1 July 2027 for a visa expiring on 1 September 2027.
What the calculator works out
It adds 3 months to your arrival date for the validation deadline, reads the tax for the visa's purpose, then counts back 4 and 2 months from the visa's end for the first-card window. The rules come from the official long-stay visa page and the student page.
| VLS-TS purpose | Validation tax | First card afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| Student | €100 | €150 |
| Employee | €300 | €350 |
| Spouse of a French national | €300 | €350 |
| Au pair | €100 | €150 |
Two sample timetables
Arrived on 5 September 2026 with a visa until 1 September 2027: validate by 5 December 2026, apply for the card between 1 May 2027 and 1 July 2027. Arrived on 20 November 2026 with a one-year visa: validate by 20 February 2027, card between 19 July 2027 and 19 September 2027.
When the visa ends
To stay in France after the VLS-TS ends, you must apply for a residence card, either at the prefecture or on the ANEF portal depending on the purpose of your stay; each permit's page states where and when. Your passport had to be valid for at least three months beyond the visa when you applied at the consulate, so check its expiry date before filing for the card. If the validation deadline has already passed, do not wait: your stay is no longer lawful, and an association or a lawyer can tell you what can still be done.
The tax is paid with an electronic stamp, as the official stamp-purchase page explains; the employee page gives the employee amount. The consulate's visa fee, which varies by country, is not included. General information, not legal advice.