Apostille for France: visas, residency, and marriage

Common reasons you need documents for France

Long-stay visas including the visiteur route used by retirees, residency permits and renewals, marriage and PACS, French citizenship applications, university admission, and inheritance and property matters.

Documents and who authenticates them

An FBI Identity History Summary with a federal apostille for visa and residency files, plus birth, marriage, and divorce certificates apostilled by the state that issued them. French offices often ask for a recent copy of a birth certificate rather than an old one.

Step by step from Oregon

1. Order recent certified copies of the vital records your prefecture or consulate asks for.
2. Get fingerprinted for your FBI Identity History Summary if your route requires a criminal record document.
3. Send federal documents to the U.S. Department of State for the apostille, and state records to the issuing state's Secretary of State.
4. Have the documents translated by a traducteur assermenté, a court-sworn translator in France, which is what French authorities normally require.
5. File with the French consulate covering Oregon, or with the prefecture after you arrive.

Translation

France generally requires translation by a traducteur assermenté, a translator sworn before a French court. A U.S. certified translation is usually not accepted for official filings in France. We prepare certified French translations for U.S. agencies, and Sarah can review your French documents with you directly.

• Certified French translation
• All languages

Good to know

• French offices often want a birth certificate issued within the last three or six months, so order a fresh copy rather than using one you already have.
• Order the apostille before the translation, since the sworn translator usually translates the document and the apostille together.

Moving to France: which route, and what it needs

Requirements differ by route and change without notice, so treat this as a starting point and confirm with the consulate or your immigration attorney.

• Work and employment. A job offer usually drives the paperwork. Employers and immigration offices commonly ask for a criminal background check, degrees, and sometimes birth or marriage records, all authenticated.
• Business, investor, and self-employment. Company formation, investor permits, and self-employment routes typically need authenticated corporate documents, powers of attorney so someone can act for you locally, and a background check.
• Remote work and digital nomad routes. Where a remote-work route exists, applications usually require proof of foreign income, health insurance, and an authenticated background check. Confirm whether the route is currently open before you build a document pack around it.
• Retirement and passive income. The non-lucrative visa is the usual retirement route. Spanish consulates commonly require the FBI check to be issued within the last 3 months and translated by a sworn translator.
• Family, marriage, and children. Marriage abroad, family reunification, and registering a child usually need apostilled birth and marriage certificates, and sometimes a single-status or no-impediment document.
• Study. Universities and student permits typically ask for apostilled diplomas and transcripts, and a background check for longer programs.

Document timeline

These are our turnaround times for the steps we handle. Government processing and consulate appointments are set by those offices.

1. Fingerprinting and FBI background check — Submitted within 30 minutes of your appointment
   We capture your prints and submit the request through our channeler partners. The FBI controls how quickly results come back.
2. Notarization, if your documents need it — Same day
   Powers of attorney, affidavits, and copies that need a notary before authentication are handled at your appointment, in our office or at your location.
3. Apostille or authentication courier service — 10 to 15 business days
   We prepare and courier the request to the right office: the U.S. Department of State for FBI results, or a state Secretary of State for state-issued documents.
4. Certified translation — 2 to 3 business days
   Ordered after the apostille when the receiving country wants the apostille page translated too. Some countries require their own sworn translator, and we tell you when that applies.
5. Your consulate appointment — Set by the consulate
   Book early. Appointment backlogs, not document preparation, are usually what delays a move.

Finding the Spain consulate that covers Oregon

Each Spain consulate in the United States covers specific states, and you generally have to file with the one that covers Oregon. Check the consulate's own website for its jurisdiction, appointment system, and current document checklist, because those differ by post and change without notice.

The U.S. State Department publishes the official directory of foreign consular offices in the United States, which is the reliable place to find current addresses and contact details rather than a third-party list.

U.S. State Department: Foreign Consular Offices in the United States

We don't book consulate appointments or file applications. We prepare, notarize, translate, and courier the documents you take to that appointment.

How we help with your move to Spain

One team handles the document chain, so you make one call instead of coordinating four businesses against one deadline.

• Fingerprinting and FBI background checks

  Captured at our Beaverton office or at your location, submitted within 30 minutes. $135, or $350 with the federal apostille package.

• Notary and witnesses

  Powers of attorney, affidavits, and consent letters notarized before they go for authentication. $10 per signature at our office.

• Apostille courier service

  Prepared and couriered to the Oregon Secretary of State, another state, or the U.S. Department of State. $125 to $195 per Oregon document.

• Certified translation

  $65 per document, $75 with a notarized certificate, in 2 to 3 business days. We tell you when the destination requires its own sworn translator instead.

• Passport photos and shipping

  Photos sized for the country you're applying to, and tracked international shipping for the finished documents.

We are notaries and a private document facilitator, not attorneys or immigration consultants. We can't choose a visa route, complete application forms, or advise on eligibility. For that, talk to an immigration attorney or the consulate.

Our prices for documents going to France

Our fees are for our document authentication facilitator and courier service. See all prices.

Related country guides

• Canada
• Greece
• Italy
• Portugal
• All countries

Where we serve France clients

Documents for France are handled at our Beaverton office or by mobile appointment across the Portland metro area.

• Portland
• Beaverton
• Lake Oswego
• Tigard
• Hillsboro
• All service areas