France visa requirements for Ivorian citizens

VFS Global centre in Abidjan

Citizens of Ivory Coast need a Schengen visa for France. According to France-Visas, the French Government's official visa portal, the application is lodged by appointment at the VFS Global visa centre in Abidjan.

Official application site →

What the visa centre can and can't do →

The overseas territories: different entry rules

None of France's territories outside Europe are part of the Schengen area, so a Schengen visa does not get you into Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna or the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. If your trip covers one of those territories and European France as well, France-Visas requires two separate visas: the Schengen one and a national visa for the territory. Some nationalities are visa-exempt in those destinations, but the exemption is decided territory by territory and is not inherited from Schengen.

Source: france-visas.gouv.fr/en/la-france-dans-l-espace-schengen (comprobado 18/09/2026)

Fee

€90

The €90 is the short-stay Schengen visa fee, set by Article 16 of the Visa Code (Regulation (EC) 810/2009) as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1415, in force since 11 June 2024. It is not a fee set by France: the same amount is paid at any Schengen consulate. Children from the age of 6 and under 12 pay €45, and children under 6 are exempt. Travellers entering without a visa pay no fee at all.

Processing time

Where the trip requires a Schengen visa, the consulate must decide within 15 calendar days of an admissible application being lodged. That period may be extended to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases, particularly where the application needs closer examination; in justified urgent individual cases the decision is taken immediately (Regulation (EC) 810/2009, Art. 23). An application may not be lodged more than six months before the intended trip and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before it; where the consulate requires an appointment, it is normally given within two weeks of being requested (Art. 9).

Required documents

• A valid passport or travel document, issued within the previous ten years and valid for at least three months beyond the date you plan to leave the Schengen area (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Art. 6(1)(a))
• A valid visa, if your nationality requires one. It is not needed if you hold a valid residence permit or long-stay visa issued by a Schengen State (Art. 6(1)(b))
• Documents justifying the purpose and conditions of the intended stay: an accommodation booking or a declaration of invitation from your host, and a return or onward ticket (Art. 6(1)(c) and Art. 6(3), which points to the non-exhaustive list in Annex I)
• Proof of sufficient means of subsistence for the whole stay and for the return to your country of origin, or of being in a position to acquire such means lawfully. They are assessed according to the duration and purpose of the stay, by reference to average prices for board and lodging in budget accommodation (Art. 6(1)(c) and 6(4)). Cash, traveller's cheques, credit cards and declarations of invitation or of sponsorship all count as proof (Art. 6(4))

Health insurance

Mandatory to apply for the Schengen visa: minimum coverage of €30,000, valid across the whole Schengen area and for the entire length of the stay (Regulation (EC) 810/2009, Art. 15).

Which policies meet the €30,000 requirement →

When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓

How long you can stay

Schengen rule: a maximum stay of 90 days within any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area.

Calculate your available Schengen days →

Why isn't your passport being stamped? The EES system →