Living in France on a VLS-TS: how much can you travel in Schengen?

The short answer: while your VLS-TS or French residence permit is valid, you can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the other Schengen countries. Days in France don't use any of those 90. Days in Italy, Spain or Germany do.

What the law says

The rule is in Article 21 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, as amended in 2010 and 2013. It says that someone holding a valid residence permit issued by one Schengen state may, on the basis of that permit and a valid travel document, move freely for up to 90 days in any 180-day period within the other states. Article 21(2a) applies the same right to holders of a valid long-stay visa, as defined in Article 18: a national visa (type D) valid for no more than one year. A VLS-TS is a French long-stay visa, so it falls under this rule too.

The right comes with conditions. Article 21 lists them:

• a valid travel document. Under the Schengen Borders Code, that means a passport issued within the previous 10 years and valid for at least three months after the date you plan to leave the Schengen area;
• being able to justify the purpose and conditions of your stay, and having enough money for it and for the journey back;
• not being considered a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any Schengen state;
• not being on the national list of alerts of the country you're visiting.

Which days count

Days in France don't count while your VLS-TS or permit is valid. Days everywhere else in Schengen do, and they add up across countries: 20 days in Italy and 20 in Spain are 40 days, not two separate 20s. Our guide to long-stay visas and residence permits covers the background, and how Schengen days are counted explains the rolling window.

Before your VLS-TS is validated

France-Visas says you must validate your VLS-TS online within three months of arriving. If you don't, you're no longer legally present in France and can't re-enter the Schengen area. The French public-service site adds that the online step is what keeps your stay lawful and lets you cross the Schengen border again.

Neither page says whether a short trip to another Schengen country is fine before you validate. Because re-entry is tied to validation, the safe course is to validate before you travel anywhere.

When it expires or is being renewed

Once your VLS-TS or permit ends, you're a visitor again, including in France. If your VLS-TS above ends on 14 September 2027 and you're still in France from 10 to 20 September with nothing to cover it, 15 to 20 September are 6 days that count.

While France processes an application, it now issues digital attestations through its online foreigners' service (ANEF). They have the same effect as the old paper receipts (récépissés). The Interior Ministry's page says:

• Renewal, still being examined: the attestation is valid only together with your previous permit, even if expired, and it allows you to cross the Schengen borders.
• First application, still being examined: it shows your stay is lawful, together with your expired document, but it doesn't allow you to cross the Schengen borders.
• Favorable decision: for a first application or a renewal (then together with your previous visa or permit), it allows you to cross the Schengen borders while your card is made.
• Filing confirmation: doesn't prove lawful stay and doesn't allow border crossings.

Read the type printed on your own attestation before you book anything. How days on an attestation fit the 90/180 is less clear. The EU definition of a residence permit leaves out temporary permits issued while a first application is examined, and we found no official page on renewal attestations. In the tracker you decide: add an attestation as its own permit period and we stop counting days in France for those dates, or leave it out and they count. When unsure, leaving it out only ever shows you fewer days left.

Permits from other Schengen countries

The same Article 21 covers a permit or long-stay visa from any Schengen state, and MyTravelStatus treats them all the same way. Days in the country that issued it don't count while it's valid. Days in every other Schengen country do. The one mapping we make is that a Finnish permit also covers Åland, which is part of Finland. We don't extend a French permit to Monaco: days there count. Validation steps and receipts are national rules, so check the issuing country's own guidance.

Tracking it

Our free calculator doesn't know about permits, so enter only your trips outside France. With a free account, you can add your VLS-TS and any later permits with their dates, and we'll count only the days that use your 90. If you're moving to France, Relo2France (opens in a new tab) helps with the move, and its members get this tracker in their account.

Not legal advice. This guide explains the published rules as we understand them on the date above. Rules and how they're applied change, and border officers make the final decision. Check the official sources below, and get professional advice for your own situation.