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‘We’ll give up our French house’ – users speak of their frustration with TLS visa site

Readers of The Local have experienced ongoing problems with the TLS Contact website, used to make visa appointments for people in several countries, including the UK.

'We'll give up our French house' - users speak of their frustration with TLS visa site
A TLS Contact visa centre Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP

Applying for a visa to France has become more of a challenge for Brits and others required to go through the TLS Contact website, particularly in recent months, after the website underwent changes.

One respondent, John in North Staffordshire, told The Local: “The whole TLS process is very trying, we’re seriously thinking this is the last time. We’ll give up our place in France”.

This website is used by those applying for a visa – including second-home owners seeking visitor visas to come to France for more than 90-days.

Applying for a French visa is a two-stage process – applicants first complete forms on the France-Visas page.

They are then directed to a contact centre to make an in-person appointment for the second stage of the process. For several countries including the UK, this service is run by TLS Contact. It is through this website that users request an appointment with the visa centre, submit their travel documents (and passport), pay any required processing fees, and submit biometric data (such as fingerprints).

Find more info in our visa section HERE.

It is TLS Contact who submits the final portions of the visa application to the French government. Users should be able to track the progress of their application using the website, but many have reported issues with being able to log in.

One respondent, Tanima Roy, applying from London, said: “The website was okay last year but right now for TLS France, its not working. It’s very frustrating”.

She said the primary issue has been with the log-in process – each time it brings the user back to the home page.

Sarah Dancy in Oxford, who tried to use the site in the last month, said: “It goes round in circles, in that you log in, try to move to the next stage, and find yourself back at square one. Very frustrating indeed, and no apparent way out of this vicious circle. Then one day, it just worked (albeit very slowly), by which time I’d torn out most of my hair!! It’s very stressful.”

Other users have noticed that it can take several days for the information submitted on the French France-Visas page to be recognised by TLS Contact. 

“It took several days (nearly a week) for the form filled in on the French government website to be recognised on the TLS website – again, no explanation or expectation that this should be the case. Then several failed attempts on the website before actually being taken to the list of appointment times”, Dancy said.

When it came to actually making appointments, several noticed that it took many attempts to be taken to the tool that allows you to select an appointment time.

Second-home owner Helen Claire Gibb in Middlesborough told The Local the site was “unspeakably poor”.

“I can’t even get into site now to make new application as last one has timed out.

“By the time I have got in to appointments page there’s never anything available despite constantly trying”. 

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: What type of French visa do you need?

Others said that part of the problem is that the website cannot be accessed multiple times in one day, leaving many frustrated and confused. In a red banner on the top of the website, TLS Contact warns about this problem, saying “As a security measure, the number of connections and requests to the site is limited. If you connect too often to the website, you will be blocked for a limited time.”

However, according to Deborah Perry in London: “TLS blocks you if you access their site too often, but don’t tell you how often is too often”. 

When Dave Sparks in Southport was locked out, he said he was “told by the TLS customer service that this could take between 2 and 30 days to clear”.

This can be potentially problematic, as other users noted that a visa appointment with TLS should be booked as soon as possible after submitting documents to France-Visas. Deborah Perry was told that 20 days was the maximum.

On a general level, several users reported finding the website to be difficult to navigate and “not user friendly”.

For example, minor errors in the contact form can lead to the entire application being rejected, which is what happened to Dave Sparks. Eventually, when he was able to submit a new application and log onto the site again, he found that there were no appointments available in the near future. 

Eventually, he gave up on a visa and is now limiting his visits to 90 days in every 180.

Others noted “ambiguous prompts”, “out of date advice” and problems with hyperlinks. 

“Links in the site are not apparent, you have to hunt for links. They are not presented as ‘hot links’, you have no idea which piece of script you have to click to move on. This is time consuming and frustrating”, John in North Staffordshire said.

While some users cautioned ‘patience’, others had practical tips for how to respond after having problems with the website. 

“Phone them,” said Philip Hall McMillan from Ross-on-Wye. “Last year it was impossible to get through and messages were not responded to. This year there was no problem getting a reply and staff very helpful, made our appointment for us and solved the problem.”

Some also found that applying early and well in advance helped to ensure that appointments would be available.

“There seemed to be more appointments available this year however they are booked for several weeks in advance, get your application in in good time”, John from North Staffordshire said.

When it comes time for the appointment, others had administrative tips.

“Make sure all your supporting documents are in order, it is worth labelling the sections. If your not in order then you will be refused there and then and have to start the appointment process again.

“The chap in front of us forgot his original EHIC card for example, he had a photocopy of it but nevertheless he had to make a new appointment with its consequent delays”, John added.

Dave Sparks recommended that people “be very careful in what you enter on the TLS form and print a copy before you ask for it to be validated as you cannot see it after that point!”

And when it came to some positive aspects of the website itself, John noticed that the tracking function appeared to work well: “It’s not all bad. On the plus side on the website they do keep you posted on the progress of your application. This year our Visa was back with us within 10 days”.

The Local has requested a comment from TLS Contact. 

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AMERICANS IN FRANCE

Is there really a 1949 treaty that allows Americans an extra three months in France?

You might have heard rumours about an old but never-repealed treaty between France and the USA that allows Americans an extra three-month stay in France without requiring a visa. But is it still valid?

Is there really a 1949 treaty that allows Americans an extra three months in France?

It sounds almost too good to be true – an obscure treaty that would potentially allow Americans to stay up to six months in Europe without needing a visa . . .

The agreement exists, it was one of several bilateral travel agreements that France made in 1949.

It states: “From April 1st 1949, citizens of the US can enter the following countries on the simple presentation of a valid passport, without a visa, and stay between one day and three months; France, Andorra, Algeria, Morocco, Gaudeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion (or Tunisia for two months).”

First things first, we would strongly advise against turning up at the border of Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco and claiming your right to free entry based on an agreement that France made for them back in the days when they were colonised. Awkward.

The Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Indian ocean island of La Réunion and the South-American territory of French Guiana remain French. For administrative purposes they are part of France, but they are not part of the Schengen zone so have slightly different travel rules. Andorra is different again.

Schengen rules

These days France is part of the EU’s Schengen zone and that has its own rules for travel.

Americans are one of several nationalities covered by the ’90-day rule’ – this allows for stays of up to 90 days in every 180 in the Schengen zone, without the requirement for a visa. In total over a year you can spend 180 days visa free, but they cannot be consecutive – within any 180-day period you must not stay for more than 90 days.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90-day limit covers time spent in any of the Schengen zone countries – so for example if you are travelling around France, Italy, Spain and Austria you get 90 days total, not 90 days in each country.

The 1949 agreement allows three months visa-free in France, while the Schengen zone agreement allows 90-days visa free in France – basically the same amount.

However where the 1949 agreement could potentially be an advantage is for Americans who want to travel around Europe for several months – essentially giving them three months in France plus 90 days in the rest of the Schengen zone countries, allowing for a six-month visa-free stay in Europe.

Neither rule allows for more than 90 days in France without getting a visa – if you want to stay longer than that in France, you will need a visa (unless you have dual nationality with an EU country).

Schengen rules versus pre-existing bilateral agreements

But is the 1949 agreement still valid? It’s true that the agreement was never specifically cancelled, but since then something big has happened – the creation of the Schengen free travel area which came into force in 1990.

The Schengen agreement creates a free travel zone (expanded several times since 1990 and now encompassing 29 countries and about 420 million people).

Countries that are part of the Schengen area;

  • do not carry out checks at their internal borders, except in cases of specific threats
  • carry out harmonised controls at their external borders, based on clearly defined criteria

The rules are covered by the Schengen Borders Code, which involves countries adopting a common visas policy – in brief this means that countries are free to set their own visa policy (eg types of visa offered, visa costs/duration) but must agree on who needs a visa and who does not.

The European Council explains: “An EU common visa policy is necessary for the effective functioning of the border-free Schengen area as it facilitates the entry of visitors into the EU, while strengthening internal security.

“The EU has established a visa policy for: intended short stays in or transit through the territory of a Schengen state; transit through the international transit areas of airports of the Schengen states; short stays are stays of no more than 90 days within any 180-day period.”

So the EU is clear that it operates a common visas policy – limiting visa-free stays to no more than 90 days in every 180.

French policy 

Part of the confusion over this historic agreement seems to be that over the years several French consulates have provided contradictory or confusing advice suggesting that the 1949 agreement is still in force.

You may be lucky and find a border guard who agrees with their interpretation – but if you find someone who interprets the Schengen rules as superseding the 1949 treaty, they will be able to provide a lot of more up-to-date and clearer statements of the rules specifying that non-EU citizens such as Americans are limited to 90 days in every 180 within the Schengen zone.

If you lose your argument at the border, you are liable to end up with an ‘over-stayer’ stamp in your passport which may make it difficult for you to re-enter any EU country, or to get a visa for any EU country.

Is it really worth taking that risk?

EES

Starting later in 2024 – probably October although it could be delayed again – is the EU’s new Entry & Exit System.

You can find a full explanation of it here, but it basically automates the counting of the 90-day allowance – passports will be scanned on entry and exit of the Schengen zone and dates automatically tallied.

There are exemptions for people who have residency permits or visas, but there is no provision built into the system to show old treaties at the border.

French citizens

The 1949 agreement is a bilateral one, so it also includes a provision for French people wanting to go the USA.

It states: “French citizens wishing to travel to the United States for stays not exceeding three consecutive months may, if they wish, receive free visas valid for two years and for an unlimited number of trips during that period.”

Sadly, this is no longer valid either – the US does not allow visa-free travel and French citizens wishing to go even for a short holiday will need to complete the ESTA visa-waiver online before travelling. Anyone who has failed to complete this form (which is not free) will be denied boarding by their airline.

Once completed, the ESTA visa waiver covers multiple trips for two years (unless your passport is renewed in that time, in which case you have to do it again).

The ESTA visa allows trips of up to 90 days per visit, French people wishing to stay for longer will need to apply for a visa.

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