An unprepared tourist, especially the one who first issues the permission to enter the country of the Schengen agreement, may confuse the Consulate with a visa center. However, this is far from the same thing. Only the Consulate of the country puts the cherished stickers in the passports, and all visa centers are only intermediaries authorized by this Embassy. They are designed for the convenience of citizens. The French Visa Application Center is no exception to this rule. Its employees take the applicants' files, help them fill out questionnaires, and provide the necessary and qualified advice regarding the package of necessary papers. There is also an additional service - courier delivery of documents.
Should I come to the French Visa Application Center? Or act directly, without intermediaries? It is up to you. On the territory of our country there are three Consulates of the
Republic of France. They are, of course, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in Yekaterinburg. But since the summer of 2013, the latter has stopped accepting documents. It redirects all applicants either to the Consulate in Moscow, or to the visa center located in Yekaterinburg itself. Naturally, you need to pay for the services of an intermediary. But what is the extra 25 dollars compared with the prospect of traveling to Moscow, and more than once? This circumstance should be taken into consideration.
For those Russians who do not live in three large cities (the capital, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg), the French Embassy in the Russian Federation in the summer of 2013 opened as many as five points where you can apply for travel. These are Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, as well as Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. As for the capital, the French visa center in Moscow has been operating for a long time (its location is 3 Marxistskaya Street, Building 2). According to user reviews, he recommended himself from the best side. He works on weekdays from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon.
Here are some more useful addresses. Yekaterinburg, st. Kuybysheva, 44, Panorama Hotel, 2nd floor. The French Visa Application Center (Petersburg) is located on 7. Chkalovsky Prospekt. These intermediary offices are also open in Nizhny Novgorod (Osharskaya St., 16), Rostov-on-Don (Semashko St., 117), Kazan, (Tazi Gizzata, 4), Vladivostok, (Okeansky Prospect, 17), Novosibirsk (st. Chelyuskintsev, 15).
Now we will consider various aspects in order to decide for sure whether you should contact the French visa center or the Consulate. The only negative can be called additional costs in the amount of payment for intermediary services. However, as already mentioned, $ 25 is an incomparably smaller amount than the fare from Vladivostok to Moscow and vice versa. The queues at such points of reception of documents are small, you can sign up at any time that suits you. And most importantly, you can bring papers for the whole family. For example, for parents, spouse, children. True, the rules allow you to submit documents for relatives only in a vertical line, that is, sisters, brothers and cousins must come to the center in person.
In addition, each French visa center requires payment both for the consular fee and for its intermediary services after the adoption of a package of documents. So you should not worry that you will pay the money, and then it turns out that there is not enough information. Experienced consultants are sitting in the hall of the centers, who will tell you what documents are needed for which type of visa, and even they can fill out your application forms. Courier delivery service will save you from having to show up for passports.