Entry rules for
French Polynesia.

01 · The short answer

Most visitors
need only a passport.

If you hold a US, Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, South Korean, Singaporean, Mexican, Brazilian, Argentine or Chilean passport, you can visit for up to three months in any six-month period without a visa, as long as you don't come to work². EU citizens need no visa; nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are visa-exempt on the same three-in-six basis³⁴.

What every non-EU visitor needs is a passport valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave French Polynesia, with at least two blank pages, issued within the last ten years⁴. The UK government gives the same three-month rule for British citizens⁵.

Most other nationalities, including Chinese, Indian, Russian, Thai, Indonesian and South African passport holders, need a short-stay visa that names French Polynesia, applied for before travel at a French consulate²⁴. A Schengen visa for mainland France does not do the job on its own⁶.

05 · Schengen, EES, ETIAS

Part of France,
not of Schengen.

French Polynesia's entry rules are separate from mainland France's¹, and a visa issued for mainland France or the Schengen area does not cover it unless the visa sticker says so: a visa for French Polynesia must carry the words 'valable pour la Polynésie française'⁶. Nationals who need one apply before travel to the French consulate nearest their home⁶; the France-Visas site is where the process starts.

There is one shortcut. Holders of a valid residence permit or long-stay visa issued by France or another Schengen state are visa-exempt for stays of up to three months in six²⁴. A US green card does not give the same exemption, except to cruise passengers stopping for under 24 hours⁴.

The EU's Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026 and records non-EU travellers at the external borders of 29 European countries¹⁰. ETIAS, the planned travel authorisation for visa-free visitors to Europe, is not yet in operation¹¹. Both are Schengen-area systems: they matter if your trip also passes through Paris or another Schengen airport, not for French Polynesia's own entry rules, which are set by the 2011 order².

06 · Transit

Changing planes
on the way.

Every Paris flight stops in Los Angeles or San Francisco, and many trips from Asia and Australia pass through the US too. Anyone who is not a US citizen needs an ESTA or a US visa to change planes there, even without leaving the airport; on the ESTA form, enter 'In Transit' and the final destination⁹. An ESTA is usually valid for two years or until the passport expires⁹.

At Faa'a itself, passengers who stay inside the international transit zone between two flights don't need a French Polynesia visa, unless their nationality requires an airport transit visa for France². Few itineraries do this; most passengers land and enter.

Transit rules in other countries — New Zealand for an Auckland connection, for example — are set by those countries. Check them with your airline.

07 · Longer stays

Over three months,
work and study.

For more than three months, non-EU nationals need a long-stay visa that expressly mentions French Polynesia, applied for at the consulate or prefecture of their place of residence before arrival; the High Commission advises applying at least three months ahead¹². Within two months of arriving, or before the visa expires, you then ask the High Commission for a residence permit valid in French Polynesia¹².

The application needs evidence matched to the purpose: accommodation, resources, health and hospital insurance and a repatriation guarantee in all cases; a statement that you won't work for a 'visitor' stay; an enrolment certificate for study; a work contract and a work permit from the government of French Polynesia for a job¹².

Bring a passport that covers the whole stay. Few countries have a consulate in French Polynesia, and renewing a passport there may mean a trip home or to a country with a consulate that can do it¹².

Living in mainland France does not change this: a non-EU spouse of a French citizen, or a holder of a residence card for mainland France, still needs a long-stay visa for a stay of more than 90 days in French Polynesia¹².

08 · By sea

Yachts
and cruise ships.

Yachts arriving from abroad must first clear in at a designated port of entry: Papeete or Afareaitu (Moorea); Uturoa, Fare or Vaitape in the Leewards; Taiohae, Hakahau or Atuona in the Marquesas; Mataura, Moerai or Raima in the Australs; Tiputa (Rangiroa) or Rikitea (Mangareva)¹³. The maritime affairs office asks for passports valid six months beyond departure — stricter than the three months applied at the airport — plus an online yacht declaration, a maritime health declaration at least 48 hours before arrival, and registration on the government's ESCALES service¹³⁴.

Cruise passengers who stay on board in port need no visa. Those going ashore for a stop of under 24 hours are exempt if they hold a residence permit from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, or from Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Canada, Japan or the US, or a French visa for another part of France⁴. Cruise lines send the passenger list to the border police at least 24 hours ahead².