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France · Transit

Do you need a transit visa for France?

By the Visa Almanac editorial teamChange logUpdated 6 Nov 2026

In brief

It depends on your passport and on whether you leave the international transit area. Nationals of 12 countries on the EU list and 24 more on France's national list need an airport transit visa even to change planes at a French airport, unless they hold an exemption document, such as a valid US, Canadian or Japanese visa on the way to or from that country.12 India is on neither list. To pass border control, you need a Schengen visa if your passport requires one.5

Checked 6 Nov 2026Source: EU Visa Code and France-VisasReport a change

Independent reference, not a government website. We don't issue visas or sell visa services.

ContentsIn brief
  1. In brief
  2. By nationality
  3. Airside
  4. Border control
  5. Exemptions
  6. Fee and how to apply
  7. FAQ
  8. Sources
  9. About this page

Who needs an airport transit visa, by nationality

Your passportChanging planes in the transit areaGoing through border controlOfficial list
On the EU list 12Airport transit visaunless exempt (see Exemptions)Schengen visaVisa Code, Annex IV
On France's list 24Airport transit visaunless exempt (see Exemptions)Schengen visaFrance-Visas: airport transit visa
Other passports that need a Schengen visa 69No airport transit visaSchengen visaRegulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex I
Visa-free passportsNothingNo visaup to 90 days in any 180France entry rules by nationality

On the EU list (Visa Code, Annex IV) 12 nationalities, at every Schengen airport

  • Afghanistan
  • Bangladesh
  • DR Congo
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Ghana
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Nigeria
  • Pakistan
  • Somalia
  • Sri Lanka

On France's national list 24 more, at French airports

  • Angola
  • Bolivia
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Congo
  • Côte d'Ivoire
  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic
  • Guinea
  • Haiti
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Nepal
  • Philippines
  • Russia
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Togo
  • Türkiye
  • Uzbekistan

The list covers ordinary passports. Russian citizens need one only when arriving from an airport in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Turkey or Egypt; Filipino seafarers with a seaman's book are exempt; Guinean service passports and Palestinian refugee travel documents also need one. France-Visas' page was read from an archived copy.2

France-Visas' two language versions differ on India. The English version of France-Visas (Wayback capture of 29 January 2026) still listed India among ordinary passports needing a French airport transit visa. The French version (capture of 27 July 2026) and the Commission's table no longer list India for France.42

Changing planes in the international transit area

  • Nationals of some countries need an airport transit visa even to change planes in the international (non-Schengen) part of an EU airport.3
  • Each Schengen country can add its own airport transit visa requirements for other nationalities, on top of the common EU list.3
  • An airport transit visa is valid only for transit through the international transit areas of airports in the Schengen states; it does not allow entry.1
  • An airport transit visa issued because of a national list is valid only at the airports of the state or states concerned.1
  • France issues single, double (return trip) and multiple airport transit visas.2

Vous êtes soumis à l’obligation de détenir un visa de transit aéroportuaire "A" (VTA) si vous êtes titulaire : ... D’un passeport ordinaire délivré par :In English: You are required to hold an "A" airport transit visa (ATV) if you hold: ... An ordinary passport issued by:France-Visas, airport transit visa · checked · read from an archived copy of 27 Jul 2026

Going through border control

To leave the transit area, change airports or travel on inside the Schengen area, you pass border control and need a Schengen visa if your passport requires one; an airport transit visa does not allow entry.15 See the France entry rules by nationality, and the EU Entry/Exit System for what happens at the border.

  • An airport transit visa does not allow entry into the Schengen area. A connection between two airports inside the Schengen area, a night closure of the terminal or leaving the airport during the layover requires a valid Schengen short-stay visa.2

Exemptions

No airport transit visa is needed, even on the lists above, if you hold:

  • a valid Schengen visa, a national long-stay visa or a residence permit of a Schengen state;1
  • a valid visa for Canada, Japan or the United States (or a non-Schengen EU state, or the Netherlands' Caribbean territories), when travelling to the issuing country or another third country, or returning from the issuing country after using the visa;1
  • one of the residence permits listed in Annex V of Andorra, Canada, Japan, San Marino, the United Kingdom or the United States, or a residence permit of a non-Schengen EU state or the Netherlands' Caribbean territories;1
  • a status as a family member of an EU citizen, a diplomatic passport, or flight crew membership (nationals of a Chicago Convention state).1

For the United States, Annex V lists a valid unexpired immigrant visa, the Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card, the Form I-327 Re-entry Permit and the Form I-571 Refugee Travel Document endorsed 'Permanent Resident Alien'.1 For the United Kingdom, Annex V lists the UK Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).1 Annex V lists the residence permits that let holders transit Schengen airports without an airport transit visa: for Canada the permanent resident card and the Permanent Resident Travel Document, for Japan the residence card.1

France exempts holders of residence permits of Monaco, Andorra, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States or San Marino, or for the Netherlands' Caribbean territories, that guarantee an unrestricted right of return.2

third-country nationals holding a valid visa for a Member State which does not take part in the adoption of this Regulation, or for a Member State which does not yet apply the provisions of the Schengen acquis in full, or for Canada, Japan or the United States of America, or holders of a valid visa for one or more of the overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), when travelling to the issuing country or to any other third country, or when, having used the visa, returning from the issuing country;EU Visa Code, Article 3(5) · checked · read from an archived copy of 18 Oct 2026

Fee and how to apply

FeeEUR 90, EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 111No page states a fee for the airport transit visa itself; the Visa Code's visa fee covers it
Where to applyApply to the Schengen state where the transit airport is; with two or more transit airports, to the state of the first transit airport.1
ValidityMultiple-entry airport transit visas may be issued for up to six months.1

More on the fee in each country: Schengen visa fee · every Schengen state's lists: Schengen airport transit visa.

FAQ

Do Indians need a transit visa for France?

No, not to change planes in the international transit area: India is on neither the EU list nor France's national list (France-Visas' French page). The older English version of the page still listed India. To leave the airport, Indian citizens need a Schengen visa.

Do I need a transit visa for a layover in Paris?

Only if your passport is on the EU list or France's list and you hold no exemption document, or if you leave the transit area: for example to change airports, or when the terminal closes at night.

Can I leave the airport during a layover in France?

Only with a Schengen visa if your passport needs one; an airport transit visa does not allow entry. Visa-free passports can enter for up to 90 days in any 180.

How much is a French airport transit visa?

No official page states a separate fee; the Visa Code's visa fee applies: EUR 90, and EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11.

Sources

Official sources only. Each was checked on the date shown.

  1. European Union (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, Visa Code, consolidated text, EUR-Lex): airport transit visa lists, airport transit, exemptions and applyingeur-lex.europa.eu · checked · read from an archived copy of 18 Oct 2026
  2. Government of France (France-Visas, the official visa website): airport transit visa lists, airport transit and exemptionsfrance-visas.gouv.fr · checked · read from an archived copy of 27 Jul 2026
  3. European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME): airport transithome-affairs.ec.europa.eu · checked
  4. Government of France (France-Visas, the official visa website): national listfrance-visas.gouv.fr · checked · read from an archived copy of 29 Jan 2026
  5. European Union, Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EUR-Lex consolidated text of 30.12.2025): Schengen visaeur-lex.europa.eu · checked

More: France entry rules by nationality · transit pages · all visa guides.

About this page

By the Visa Almanac editorial team. Every rule, fee and date on this page comes from the official sources listed above, each read on the day shown; where they are silent, we say so. Editorial policy · Change log

Updated
6 Nov 2026
Last checked
Official sources
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