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France is tightening visa procedures for foreign nationals seeking to travel to its overseas territories outside Europe, the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) has claimed.
Unlike the Schengen visa regime applied to mainland France, separate entry and visa requirements apply to France’s overseas territories.
BIG said French law does not include Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, Kanaky (New Caledonia), Maohi Nui (French Polynesia), or Wallis and Futuna in the Schengen Area.
As a result, holding a Schengen visa does not generally grant entry to these territories. Foreign nationals who are subject to visa requirements must obtain a separate visa for the relevant overseas territory.
France’s official France-Visas portal confirms that none of France’s territories outside Europe are part of the Schengen Area. It states that travelers who require a visa must apply for a specific visa for the overseas territory, while a trip covering both mainland France and an overseas territory may require two separate visas.
BIG claimed that France’s visa regime for its overseas territories is being tightened in a way that could make access more difficult for local representatives, journalists, researchers, human rights advocates and other international actors.
The group argued that additional visa and administrative procedures could also make it harder for people living in the territories and their representatives to raise issues on international platforms.
BIG further alleged that the restrictions could limit international scrutiny of what it described as colonial-era crimes and their continuing consequences in the overseas territories.
The group said the measures could make it more difficult for the international community to learn about France’s colonial past and the effects it continues to have on the territories.
French visa rules already distinguish between the Schengen Area and the country’s non-European territories, with separate requirements applying depending on the territory and the traveler’s nationality.(ILKHA)
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