Reunion Island: travel formalities for foreign nationals

YOUR FLIGHT TO REUNION ISLAND WITH AIR AUSTRAL : NECESSARY TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

European nationals

• identity documents: ID card or passport in effect
• No visas required, the length of stay does not matter

For foreign nationals

• Identity documents : passport in effect ;
• Required travel documents : return or ongoing ticket ;
• Visas : in overseas departments (Reunion Island, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guiana), nationalities subjected to the visa are the same than in France.

We invite you to consult the website of the Foreign Affairs Department to know the conditions of visas delivery : Coming to France

Minor child, foreign national, travelling outside the French territory : “Movement Certificate” or Republican ID card

These documents are essential to the child abroad journeys if he is minor and does not possess the French nationality.

They allow the minor to prove his identity.

These documents will allow him to travel abroad and to return on the French territory. Indeed, the child must have a document proving the regularity of his stay in France, which will allow him to return on the national territory.

Foreign nationals holders of a Schengen visa

We remind you that Reunion Island, French overseas department, is not a member of the Schengen area.

For the holder of Schengen visa, the entrance in overseas departments/territories is possible only if the visa label contains the name of the overseas departement/territory destination: "Valid for Reunion Island".

The non-resident foreign nationals, holders of the Schengen visa, have to request a visa extension for the desired overseas department, which requires the consultation of the overseas prefect: prefecture of Reunion Island.

Only consulates and prefectures are authorized to question overseas departments for the delivery of a visa concerning them.

Visa exemption for Indian and Chinese nationals

Chinese and Indian nationals no longer need a visa for stays of up to 15 days. To organise their stay, they have three options:

• They may buy an entire package tour (flight + accommodation) from a travel agency in China or India offering Reunion Island as a destination.
• This agency will then contact an incoming agency on Reunion Island with a licence to request visa waivers.
• Or they may apply to an incoming agency on Reunion Island which can also sell a package tour (list on our website: resa.reunion.fr/en/practical-information/our-points-of-sale-on-the-island/managementcompanies.html).

Or they may book their flight directly with the airline and apply to a local agency with a licence to organise their stay (accommodation, activities, transport on the island etc.)

Choose one of these three options to benefit from professional advice, and thus enjoy a top-quality holiday on our island, as well as the handling of administrative formalities regarding the visa waiver.

View the list of agencies registered as tour and holiday operators (ROVS) ATOUT France with a licence to proceed with these formalities: https://registre-operateurs-de-voyages.atout-france.fr/web/rovs/recherche

NB:

Should your stay exceed 15 days, you will need to apply for a visa at the French consulate or embassy.

• You may also go on a 24-hr visa run to Mauritius then come back to Reunion Island, provided you organise your second stay via one of the three options detailed above.
• The maximum duration of authorised stay on Reunion Island is 90 days per 6-month period for up to 15 days at a time.
• Please note, given that Reunion Island is not part of the Schengen area, so a visa for mainland France is not valid. Please consult a French embassy or consulate.