Short-stay visas (“Schengen visas”)
Short-stay or “Schengen” visas allow holders to move freely in countries in the Schengen Area for stays not exceeding 90 days per period of 6 months from your first entry to the Schengen Area. Schengen visas may be issued for one or several entries.
This type of visa is generally issued for tourism, business travel or family visits; it also allows holders to come to France for short training courses, internships or to exercise a salaried occupation, subject to getting a temporary work permit (e.g. for artists on tour, sportspeople playing in championships, employees seconded for the provision of services, etc.).
You can also apply for a Schengen visa to simply transit through France.
Special case:
- Family members of a Community national:
In accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004, third-country family members of an EU citizen accompanying or joining their spouse in France are only subject to the entry visa requirement in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001, provided they produce documentary evidence establishing the nationality of the Community national and their family relationship and, where relevant, the status of dependent for a child over 21 or his parents. The entry visa is issued rapidly and free of charge.
Transit by a foreign national through a French airport, not leaving the “international area” of the airport, is a special case, because you do not enter French territory and do not require an entry visa, with some exceptions: certain foreigners are subject to visa requirements for airport transit in France: information on airport transit.
Long-stay visas
Long-stay visas are issued for stays exceeding 3 months. The main reasons for issuing this type of visa are study, work and family reunion.
Where a long-stay visa is issued, you must, on arriving in France, register with the French Immigration and Integration Office (OFII) or, in some cases, apply to the relevant prefecture for a residence permit.
看好了法国官方是怎么定义short-stay visa的，括号是不是写明了就是Schengen visa
I hold a temporary long-stay visa “with residence permit exemption”. Am I allowed to travel in the Schengen Area?
The type D long-stay visa issued by France or by another Schengen Area country allows travel in the Schengen Area during the validity of the visa for stays not exceeding 3 months per period of 6 months, subject to submitting documentary evidence for the reasons of your stay and your means of support.
This applies to all long-stay visas marked “D” during their period of validity, namely: temporary long-stay visa, visa for minors attending school, long-stay visa constituting a residence permit, etc.
With the new legislation, a long-stay visa (for stays exceeding three months) will - as regards the Schengen area - have the same effect as a residence permit: a third-country national holding a "long-stay D visa" issued by a Member State could travel to the other Member States for three months in any half year, under the same conditions as the holder of a residence permit.
