Since the lifting of Covid-related restrictions, several Asian countries have eased their entry requirements for travellers from France. One recent example is Chinawhich now grants a visa with no special preconditions for tourist or business stays not exceeding 15 days to citizens of all French-speaking European countries. Since August 2023, Vietnam has also been issuing theFrench nationals do not require a visa for a stay not exceeding 45 days.
At the end of May, the Thailand announced with great fanfare that the government had agreed to allow citizens of 93 countries to stay up to 60 days visa-free in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even published a list of 93 countries, including Belgium, France and Luxembourg. Except that nothing has been confirmed since. And foreign visitors are surprised The risk is that when they arrive in the country, they will only receive a visa valid for 30 days, or will be stopped by the immigration services. In fact, no information on a date of entry into force has been communicated since the announcement at the end of May.
Laos: multi-entry visa and extended validity
Perhaps the Laos and Indonesia learnt their lesson from the Thai government's hasty announcements. Visit Laos announced at the end of June that it was proposing " coming soon "In addition, the country will introduce a multi-entry visa for 60 days. At the same time, the country will extend the duration of the single-entry visa to 60 days. This facility will apply to French and Swiss nationals, among others. However, Belgian business travellers are now exempt from visas for stays of up to 14 days. Like their Luxembourg counterparts for several years.
The future multi-entry visa can only be obtained by visiting a Laos embassy or consulate. The online visa will continue to be available for a single entry. No date for the entry into force of this new provision has been announced.
Indonesia: visas for French nationals soon to be a thing of the past
As for theIndonesiashe announced on Monday extend visa-free travel to 20 new countries. Here again, no date has been given, but these regulations should come into force before the change of Indonesian government. The new administration is due to take office before the end of October under the leadership of future president Prabowo Subianto. Among the countries selected is France, whose nationals will be able to enter Indonesia for 30 days without a visa. This facility was already available to French nationals before 2023, but was withdrawn for reasons of "reciprocity".
