KEY STEPS FOR YOUR VISA APPLICATION 

Do you need a visa?

  If you hold a passport from a non-European country, you will probably need a visa. 
  You can check your specific situation using the French-Visas website: Home - France-Visas

Support documentation from the ESRF

The ESRF can issue 2 documents:

  • A standard ESRF “Invitation letter” - indicating only the scheduled beamtime and the arrival and departure dates of your stay at the ESRF (as mentioned in the A Form). It may not be sufficient to obtain a French visa.
  • A “Convention d’Accueil d’un chercheur ou d’un enseignant étranger" (Hosting agreement for a foreign researcher or teacher) - this is a more official document (CERFA).

Contact the French Embassy or the French Consulate of your home city for information on documents to provide (the ESRF cannot give any information on visa matters). 

Usually the document is sent to you as a soft copy (email). 
Ask the Embassy/Consulate if this will be enough for your visa application or if they request a hard copy (DHL).

Processing timelines

Please check with your Embassy/Consulate the delay to obtain a visa.  
Because of processing and shipping delays, you must request the Invitation Letter/Convention d’Accueil at least 1 month before your appointment at the Embassy or Consulate.

Prerequisite

You must be listed on the submitted A Form of the experiment (submission is done by the Principal Investigator).
The document can only be issued for the arrival and departure dates of your stay at the ESRF (as mentioned in the A Form).

How to request a 'Convention d'Accueil'

Please e-mail the following information to the User Office, CRG Liaison Office or BDO Office :

  • First name
  • Surname
  • Gender (M - F)
  • Nationality
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Private address
  • Employer's name (Institute...)
  • Dates of your stay
  • Address during your stay in France
  • Your Proposal ID (e.g. CH-1234 or A01-1-001) and beamline

With:

  • A copy of your diploma, translated into English (normally your PhD diploma; for PhD Students the minimum diploma level required is a Master's degree)
  • A copy of your passport, translated into English.

And (if a hard copy is needed (DHL)):

  • Email address / mobile phone number

Who to contact for the documentation

  •     ESRF (non CRG) beamline users: Contact the User Office at useroff@esrf.fr
  •     CRG beamline users: Contact the CRG Liaison Office at crgoff@esrf.fr
  •     Industrial users: Contact the Business Development Office at industry@esrf.fr