France Visa Policy: All About It

Visa Policy for France

The France Visa Policy determines the rules and regulations that must be followed by any foreign national who is planning to visit France. The visa requirements can be checked against several factors including the nationality of the individual, the purpose of the visit, and the expected duration of the stay in the country.

As per the France Visa Policy, the individuals belonging to the Schengen countries can visit France without a visa or travel authorization as France is one of those countries that signed the Schengen agreement with twenty-five other countries. The citizens of those countries can visit France for an unlimited time.

Apply now

The France Visa Policy suggests that there are other visa-free countries that don’t come under the Schengen zone, but citizens from those countries don’t need to apply for a visa to visit France. However, an ETIAS has been introduced for these citizens and is being operational by 2022 to visit any Schengen country.

According to the France Visa Policy, passport holders of around 150 countries must apply for a Schengen Visa before planning a trip to France no matter the purpose of the trip or duration of the stay in the country.

To get more information about the France Visa Policy, visa categories, requirements for the visa, and validity of the visa, you can check the section given below.

Tourist Visa Policy for France

As per the France Visa Policy, some passport holders can visit France without any travel authorization and some citizens need to apply for an Embassy Visa before their trip. The France Visa Policy states that citizens of around Ninety-five countries don’t need to apply for an Embassy Visa to enter France. Among these countries, some countries fall under the category of the Schengen zone and some countries fall under the category of Visa-exempt countries.

The citizens coming from the Schengen zone just have to present a National ID to enter France for an unlimited time period. However, the citizens coming from other visa-exempt countries must have a valid passport to visit France for a maximum duration of 90 Days for tourism.

However, by 2022, the citizens from visa-exempt countries must apply for an ETIAS to visit France for tourism, medical, business, or transit purposes. An ETIAS will be valid for 3 years or until the passport of the traveler expires.

Visitors from around one hundred and fifty countries must apply for a Schengen Visa or Embassy Visa to enter France for tourism or any purpose. These visitors must have a valid passport and have to visit the nearest France Embassy for the application of the visa.

Below is the more detailed information about the different visa categories for a visit to France.

Learn More About the Schengen Visa

Apply now

France ETIAS

The France Visa Policy states that every passport holder of any of the sixty-two visa-free countries needs to apply for an ETIAS by 2022 to enter France for tourism purposes. A France ETIAS can be obtained by applying online through a simple application form. As this travel authorization document has been introduced to improve border security, the citizens have to give answers to some security and health questions while filling out the form.

With the utilization of this document, the travelers can visit France for the maximum duration of 90 Days within a period of 180 Days. The maximum validity of a France ETIAS is 3 years. It allows the visitors to visit other countries in the Schengen zone as well within its validity. This is a multiple-entry travel document.

To apply for this travel document, the citizens need to have a valid passport with a minimum of 3 months of validity.

Here is the list of countries that require ETIAS to enter France:

Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominica
El Salvador
Federated States of Micronesia
Georgia
Grenada
Guatemala
Honduras
Hong Kong
Israel
Japan
Kiribati
Macau
Macedonia
Malaysia
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Serbia
Seychelles
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Korea
Taiwan
Timor Leste
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela

Apply now

France Embassy or Consular Visa

The France Visa Policy suggests that citizens of around 150 countries need to apply for a Schengen Visa or Embassy Visa to enter France regardless of the duration of the trip or purpose of the trip.

The maximum validity and duration of stay depend on the visa type, citizenship of the applicant, and reason for the travel. This visa type can be single or multiple entries. With the utilization of a Schengen Visa, the traveler can visit other countries in the Schengen zone as well within the validity of the document.

To apply for a Schengen visa, the traveler needs to book an appointment at the nearest France Embassy and visit with an application form along with the supporting documents. The necessary documents to apply for a Schengen visa are a valid passport with a minimum validity of 3 months, passport photographs, travel itinerary, hotel reservations or accommodation details, and other supporting documents.

A Schengen Visa application may take a long time to process, so it is advisable to apply in advance for it.

Here is the list of countries that require a Schengen Visa to visit France:

Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Algeria
American Samoa
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Armenia
Aruba
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire
Botswana
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
China
Christmas Island
Cocos Islands
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Cuba
Curacao
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greenland
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Isle of Man
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Maldives
Mali
Martinique
Mauritania
Mayotte
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
New Caledonia
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
North Korea
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian Territory
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Helena
Saint Martin
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Swaziland
Syrian Arab Republic
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
United States Virgin Islands
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Wallis and Futuna
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Apply now

Other Visa Information for France

Almost twenty-five countries in the Schengen zone are allowed to visit France without any travel authorization or a visa. The citizens of these countries just have to present a National ID card at the border checkpoint to gain entry into France.

Travelers from these countries can stay in the country for an unlimited duration. You can check the visa requirements for your nationality by using the Visa Checker Tool and apply for a travel authorization according to it.

Apply Now