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How can you appeal a visa refusal decision?

If you believe the consulate made a mistake when it refused your long-stay visa, you can challenge the decision. Act fast: you have only 30 days.

Important: you must appeal to the Commission de recours contre les décisions de refus de visa d'entrée en France (CRRV) within 30 days of being notified of the refusal. This appeal is compulsory before you can go to court. Writing to the consulate does not stop or extend this deadline.

Step 1 – Appeal to the CRRV (compulsory, within 30 days)

Your appeal must be:

  • written in French;
  • reasoned: explain the facts and why you think the refusal is wrong;
  • sent with a copy of the refusal decision, your original application and any new supporting documents (for example, stronger proof of resources).

You, a lawyer or a family member can send it to:

Commission de recours contre les décisions de refus de visa d'entrée en France — BP 83609 — 44036 NANTES Cedex 01 — FRANCE

Send it by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, and keep copies of everything: your letter, the attachments and the proof of sending. You will need them if you go to court.

If you also want to ask the consulate to review its decision, you can, but do it at the same time as the CRRV appeal, not instead of it.

Step 2 – The CRRV's decision

The CRRV can recommend that the ministers grant your visa, or reject your appeal. If it does not reply within 2 months, your appeal is considered rejected.

Step 3 – Go to court (within 2 months)

If the CRRV rejects your appeal, or the visa is still refused, you can ask the Administrative Court of Nantes to cancel the decision. You have 2 months from the CRRV's rejection (written or implied). In urgent cases, for example if your term is about to start, a lawyer can also ask the court to suspend the decision.

Is a new application faster?

Sometimes. If the refusal was due to a missing or weak document that you can now provide, a new, stronger application may be quicker than an appeal. You can do both.

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