VisaGuinea-Bissau residents seeking a long stay in France must file through Dakar
Select Senegal as the submission country, then check the special reception instructions and the residence formalities attached to the visa.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
Last verified against linked sources:
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Choose the receiving country before starting the application
Residents of Guinea-Bissau planning a long stay in France should select Senegal as the country of submission on France-Visas. The official Guinea-Bissau page says the French embassy in Bissau does not issue visas and assigns long-stay applications to the French Consulate General in Dakar. This is a current filing arrangement, not an announcement that a new Bissau visa centre has opened.
The distinction is important because the same country page sends ordinary short visits to France through Spain’s embassy in Bissau. That short-stay arrangement should not be copied into a long-stay application. Establish the intended duration and purpose before choosing the receiving country; applying to a convenient local office does not establish that it has authority over the requested category.
Confirm the Guinea-Bissau reception exception before travelling
The Senegal page identifies VFS Dakar as the receiving centre. Its Guinea-Bissau section permits attendance without appointment on working days, 8.30am to 3.30pm; general sections instead describe appointments and different hours. Confirm current reception before travelling.
Assistance contacts are [email protected] and +221 33 860 60 06; consular questions go to [email protected]. The page advises a month for long-stay planning but warns that civil-status checks may take several months. No individual walk-in acceptance or decision date was confirmed.
Select the long-stay purpose and assemble the matching evidence
The national long-stay guidance separates extended tourist or personal stays, professional activity, studies and joining family members. Each requires its own supporting documents and procedure. Selecting Senegal for submission does not determine which substantive route the applicant qualifies for. Use the visa assistant for the actual purpose and retain its document list when preparing the file.
The guidance describes long-stay visas as lasting between three months and one year, with a residence-permit application needed to remain beyond the visa’s validity where applicable. It also distinguishes a temporary long-stay visa for people certain they will not extend. Do not assume that every long-stay document has identical renewal rights. For an illustrative six-month personal stay, first identify the permitted visitor category and its evidence rather than select an employment purpose simply to obtain a longer document.
Make the form consistent with the real accommodation and funding
The official long-stay application form asks for the proposed French address, contact details of the host or receiving institution, intended entry date, duration and means of support. It separately asks whether another person in France will support the applicant, whether family lives there and whether the applicant previously stayed more than three consecutive months in France. Prepare answers from the actual arrangements rather than leave these questions to an intermediary.
The form identifies private establishment or visitor status separately from employment, studies and family settlement. It also requests the applicant’s residence-permit details where nationality and country of residence differ. Check the passport number and personal details against supporting records before signing the declaration that the information is complete and correct. The form warns that incomplete files increase refusal risk and that the consulate may retain the passport while processing.
Separate the visa charge from the centre’s service costs
The official visa fee sheet lists the full long-stay charge at EUR 99. It identifies a reduced EUR 50 category for students whose file has been examined by an Études en France centre and an exemption for spouses of French nationals, with other cases addressed in country guidance. Do not assume the student reduction applies to a private visitor, or that the full fee applies where a documented exemption exists.
The Senegal page says administration fees are collected in CFA francs and are non-refundable even after refusal. It separately describes a basic provider service fee of around CFA 15,000, with optional additional services. Obtain the current payable local amount and the collection arrangement for a Guinea-Bissau walk-in file before travelling; the approximate service figure is not a complete journey budget.
Read the visa endorsement for the arrival deadline
France-Visas’ FAQ distinguishes two important post-arrival procedures. A long-stay visa serving as a residence permit must be validated online within three months of arrival. The applicant needs an email address, visa details, arrival date, French address and payment details for the relevant charge. Save the resulting record.
A visa instead marked as requiring a residence-card application calls for a prefecture application within two months, subject to the FAQ’s exception for minors. Read the endorsement issued in the passport before choosing the procedure. A visa application lodged in Dakar is not itself permission to enter France, and a pending file does not establish any right to extend a stay in Senegal. No individual residence decision or travel permission was confirmed.
