Hi everyone!

Quick message for the visa experts!

I was planning to enter Thailand with an OA visa applied for from France. This one requires mandatory insurance, in short, it’s a bit "restrictive."

I was wondering if you see any issues with this "setup": 1- Enter with a Non-Immigrant O visa (valid for 90 days) applied for from France (relatively easy to obtain) 2- Apply for an extension with multiple entries for one year before the 90 days expire (Extension of Stay Based on Retirement) That way, I don’t have to provide "visa-compliant" health insurance (I’ll get one separately, don’t worry! :)) 3- Renew the extension year after year.

Constraints: - File a presence declaration every 90 days - Don’t forget to request the "multiple re-entry permit" for 3,800 THB - Open a Thai bank account upon arrival + transfer the 800,000 THB

Side question: Can you open a Thai bank account with an O visa, specifically to make the required funds deposit for the extension?

Thanks in advance for your feedback! Olivier

Has it gone back to 30 days for visa exemption? Valid from when? And is a flight ticket mandatory for leaving the country? Thanks!

Hi, we're heading to Cambodia. We have the e-arrival visa, which was introduced last September and needs to be done only 7 days before departure. I'd like to know if we can complete the declaration online instead of on the phone, which would require printing the declaration. Thanks for your reply. Best regards

Hi Has anyone been to Rwanda recently and gotten a 3-month visa on arrival easily? Thanks

Hi there,

This will be my first trip to Thailand, which will be the first stop on my Asian journey. This time, I’d like to leave with a one-way ticket so I can return to France from the last country I visit.

First and foremost, I’d like to confirm whether it’s possible to get a VOA (Visa on Arrival) when I land in Thailand without any prior steps? Is proof of onward travel (like a return ticket) required to get this visa?

If so, does it have to be a round-trip ticket from the country I’m arriving from, or can I use a flight or train ticket from Thailand to a neighboring country as proof of exit?

For Cambodia and Vietnam, is it also possible to get a VOA on the spot?

I’d also love any tips or important info you think might be useful about Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam—my planned destinations—especially regarding accommodation, transportation, points of interest, and, of course, any personal advice or experiences you’d like to share!

Thanks so much to everyone, and I wish you all an amazing 2025 filled with health, travel, and discoveries! !

Hi,

I’m planning to travel to China very soon, and I read in this article that getting a visa is really complicated. Can anyone confirm? Thanks so much. Nicolas

Hi everyone, We’re French and we’d like to visit Algeria, especially Kabylie, for a stay of about ten days. We’ll be renting a car (which are the best car rental agencies?)

It seems that to get a tourist visa for less than 90 days, we need to show proof of accommodation + a flight confirmation from France to Algiers. (Which hotels in Algiers do you recommend? And which airlines?)

What should we do if the visa is ultimately refused? It’s not ideal if the response takes 2 months and we have to cancel the hotel and flight.

What do you suggest we do? What are the best practices?

Thanks in advance! Patrick from Nantes

Hi there,

I just booked my round-trip flight ticket to visit Cuba for two months, from January to March 2025. I’ve heard about the challenges Cubans are facing and the recent changes the island has gone through—economically (like the end of the dual-currency system) and administratively (the introduction of an e-visa)...

This is my first time visiting the country, so I’m still figuring out all the administrative steps I need to take before I go.

1) Can I apply for the electronic e-visa now (still 22 €?) from home on the website evisacuba.cu?

2) I read that I need to fill out a form 48 hours before departure on the site dviajeros.mitrans.gol-.cu/inicio. Is it possible to do this now to save time?

3) I’m a bit confused about the currency. From what I understand, there’s now only the Cuban Peso. Should I exchange my euros at the airport, or wait until I arrive at the *casas particulares* in Havana that I’ve already booked and ask the owner?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi there,

I’d like to know if anyone has already applied for a private visa to Russia with an invitation from a Russian resident. I traveled earlier this year with an e-visa, but since I want to stay longer, I’ll be visiting my friend who lives in eastern Russia. For the visa application, does the invitation need to be on an official paper form issued by the Russian ministry? And most importantly, do I need to present the original for the application, or is there an electronic version that can be sent directly to the consulate in France? Thanks for any info if you’ve gone through this process before!

Best regards,

Gilles

India is introducing an electronic arrival card for foreign travelers. The measure is effective for all travelers starting October 1st.

India is now adopting the electronic arrival card. Presenting this "e-Arrival Card" is now mandatory for all arrivals in India as of October 1, 2025. This formality replaces the paper card previously filled out on the plane or upon arrival. India aims to streamline traveler tracking. The requirement applies to travelers of all nationalities, both adults and minors, for all entry points into India. It’s an additional mandatory formality alongside the e-Visa or visa. The e-Arrival Card must be completed online within three days prior to arrival in the country. Available in English only, it’s free and can be done on the official Indian authorities' website. The document is valid only for the declared arrival day. "This means you’ll need to complete it for each new arrival," clarifies RapideVisa, an agency specializing in visa services. Travelers must provide standard information to obtain the document (passport number, purpose of stay, countries visited in the 6 days before arrival, etc.).

Once completed, a document with a QR code to present to authorities upon arrival is generated. With this new system, India aims to facilitate traveler tracking and reduce congestion at airport counters. Nearly 19 million international visitors traveled to India in 2023. Among them, 189,000 were French.

Source: https://www.lechotouristique.com/article/inde-une-nouvelle-formalite-obligatoire-pour-voyager

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WaPqVyUmuY

Hello everyone,

My partner and I would like to travel to the Philippines at the end of August for a 4-month stay. We can’t apply for a tourist visa in advance because (from what I understand) we’d need to provide proof of hotel reservations for the entire stay. But planning a 4-month trip so far ahead isn’t something we want to do.

So my question is about extensions once we’re there:

After the initial 29-day extension request, we’d like to apply for another 2-month extension. Do you know if the same supporting documents are required for this one (pre-booked hotel, 2000 € in the bank account per month requested)?

Or can we go ahead without risk and request the extension without these documents?

Thank you so much for reading, and for this forum existing. Take care,

Boris

Hi there,

I’m planning a few-month trip to Asia with my partner and our daughter, who’ll be 5 at the time.

We’d love to visit Bhutan. Do you have any recommendations for getting a low-cost visa? I know we have to go through a local travel agency, but do we always have to stay with the agency while we’re there? We’re not big fans of organized tours, so I’d love to find a way to travel there backpacker-style... Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Cynthia

Hi there,

I’m filling out a visa application for Thailand on the official thaievisa site, and I’m unsure about my second first name on my passport, which I need to enter in the online form: Jean-François. The site doesn’t accept hyphens or "ç"

I assume the site will accept "Jean Francois" as my "middle name," but I’d like to be sure this won’t lead to my visa being rejected...

Thanks for your feedback! :) Olivier

Hi everyone, I’d like to take a trip from France to Malaysia and Thailand like this:

Paris to Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi

Langkawi to Koh Lipe

Bangkok to Paris

I’m wondering if I’ll run into any visa issues on arrival since I won’t have an outbound flight ticket from Malaysia and I won’t have an inbound flight ticket to Thailand. If you’ve got any tips or have done this trip before, I’d really appreciate your help.

Thanks so much.

Hi, I want to invite a Malagasy friend and I’m surprised to learn there are procedures (that seem complicated) to follow… It would be a short stay (max 3 months). She’s got her passport, I’m paying for the flight ticket, and I read that I need to get an accommodation certificate from my town hall—but what else is required after that? What other documents are needed? What are the processing times? I’m really disappointed that in 2026, it’s still such a hassle for this kind of thing.

Hi there, I need to apply for an ESTA: we’ll be on a cruise from Barcelona and will have a stopover in San Diego before disembarking two days later in Los Angeles. From there, we’ll continue our trip on our own, all the way to Las Vegas, where we’ll catch our flight back to Paris. So our point of entry into the U.S. will be San Diego. The form then asks if we’re in transit, and if not, to provide contact details for a U.S. contact (hotel or otherwise). But we don’t yet know what we’ll be doing there—we’ll actually be traveling around since we’re heading to San Francisco and Las Vegas without any prior reservations. What should we do since I don’t see any option that matches our trip? Thanks in advance for your help. Have a great Sunday, everyone.

Hello to all the Thailand regulars.

I’ve been to Thailand several times, but it was about 20 years ago…

There’s a new system in place now, it seems.

TDAC – Thailand Digital Arrival Card.

Before arriving, I apply for a TDAC, okay. If during my stay I cross the border to spend a few days in Malaysia and then re-enter Thailand, do I need to submit a new TDAC application? Do I use the same TDAC as when I first entered the country?

Or do I initially have to pay for a Thai multi-entry visa?

Thanks in advance for your insights—I can’t find the answer online.

Pierre

Hello,

Last year, we stayed for 3 months in Thailand, north of Khao Lak, and were able to benefit from the 2-month visa exemption, renewable for one month by going to Takua Pa to validate a 1-month extension (1,900 baht). This year, it’s a disaster for us—not only were we planning a 4-month stay, adding a visa run in between (which some say is quite risky), but the law is apparently changing in the coming months with the return of the 1-month exemption (plus the usual 1-month option). So, we looked into applying for a 6-month multiple-entry visa, allowing a maximum of 60 consecutive days in Thailand. However, I can’t find anywhere the minimum time required outside Thailand between two stays—do any of you have an idea? Thanks for the info! If you’d like tips on Khao Lak and the surrounding areas, we’ve got some experience, though things change fast! Cheers, Bruno.

I filled out the B2 form to apply for a visa, created an account on Atvis to pay the visa fees and schedule a meet-up, but every time I try to pay with my Boursobank Visa 1st card, they refuse the payment with a message telling me to check my details (address), even though everything is correct. Does anyone know why this is happening, or maybe they don’t accept Visa cards? Are you aware of this? Thanks for your feedback! Elisabeth

Hi everyone, We’re planning to travel from Mongolia to China in July 2026 via the land border. I know there’s a visa exemption for French citizens in China, but I think I read that if you’re coming from Mongolia, you need a visa. Has anyone got any info on this? Thanks! Séverine

Hi there, We’re planning our trip and want to spend 3 MONTHS in Madagascar, but we’re getting really conflicting info about visas. Apparently, it’s not possible to get one at the airport. We contacted the consulate in Marseille… and they don’t know either. The phone number for the embassy in Paris is no longer in service… Anyway… help! If anyone’s gotten a 3-month visa, could you shed some light on this for us? Thanks so much.

Hello, HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026! We’re heading back in October for a trip through Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. I have a question: for our route, we’ll need to cross the Zambia and Zimbabwe borders twice each. From experience, I know we won’t have any issues with Botswana. But for the other two countries, I can’t find a clear answer. All your tips are welcome!

Thanks for your replies

Hi, I'm planning to go to Cambodia soon. Since I'm heading toward Kratie, I thought I might as well go all the way to Pakse in Laos.

So I need a visa for Cambodia, one for Laos... but then another one when I return to Cambodia (since I plan to go to Siem Reap afterward)?

The question might seem silly, but I don’t want any hassle at the Cambodian border. I might have a few days left on my first visa, but just in case...

If anyone gets what I mean, thanks! ^^

Hi there,

We’re a group of 7 people heading to SRI LANKA in March.

We’re transiting through Mumbai (Air India flight), then after a few hours, we’ll take a SriLankan Airlines flight to Colombo.

The return trip follows the same route 26 days later.

The issue is about the Indian visa.

1- Do we need an Indian visa since we’ll only be at Mumbai Airport for a few hours (no checked baggage)?

2- Do we need a double-entry visa?

Thanks for your help—everything I’ve read online is pretty unclear.

Hi everyone,

I’ll be in Bangkok at the end of March and I’m thinking of heading to Chongqing, China, for a few days. I know China has a visa exemption program for French citizens, but a few years ago, I was in South Korea and wanted to go to Shanghai. They wouldn’t let me board because I was departing from Thailand instead of France—basically, the 3-day visa exemption at the time only worked if you were coming from Europe, not Asia. So I lost my flight tickets and accommodations and ended up staying in Seoul.

Now I’d like to give it another shot to visit that wild city, Chongqing. I read on the embassy’s website that "you can travel to China without a visa, even from a third country" (??)... But nothing’s clear—you call them, they don’t answer; you don’t know where to go to ask; and the website talks about 2025, not even 2026 yet. It’s kind of a mess...

If you’ve got any firsthand experience, I’d love to hear it! :)

Thanks everyone,

Hello my fellow travelers,

I’m leaving for 43 days in India from January 19, 2026, to March 1. How do I handle my e-visa if I don’t necessarily want a one-year visa? The one-month one will be too short... darn it!!

I just found out there’s an additional formality for the visa that came into effect on October 1. Could someone explain to me what it involves and exactly what I need to do? I’d really appreciate it—thank you so much in advance!

Wishing you all wonderful end-of-year celebrations, and may 2026 be filled with love and travels for each of you.

Régine

Hello, We’re heading to Cambodia for a trip. We have a 2h50 layover in Ho Chi Minh City on the way out and a 3h45 layover in Hanoi on the way back. Do we need a visa for this transit? Thanks for your help...

Hello, We’re planning to travel to Indonesia (Sulawesi with family) next July and August for a stay longer than a month (about 6 weeks). I’ve seen that it’s possible to get a 60-day visa before departure, but I’ve also read about people having a lot of trouble getting it (some even didn’t manage and had to leave without it). We absolutely need to have these 4 visas BEFORE leaving because once we’re in Sulawesi, I’m not sure we’ll be able to go to an embassy to request a visa extension after 30 days.

In short, how can we **100% guarantee** that we’ll get our 4 60-day visas before our trip this summer?

Thanks for your valuable tips!

Elodie

Hi there, Since April 2025, Namibia has been requiring a visa for many nationalities. I have a French passport and I’d like to know if the paid visa granted is for 60 or 90 days? I can’t seem to get a clear answer. Thanks! Bourlingueurs.com from Eswatini (Swaziland)

Hey Fellow Travelers,

I was caught off guard when the Malagasy consulate in Scandinavia informed me they don’t issue entry visas for Madagascar—what’s the point of a consulate, I wonder! They advised me to apply at the Malagasy embassy in London. So, I started filling out the online form, but the price for the visa made me do a double-take: nearly 200 €!

But apparently, you can also get it on arrival! Has anyone tried this before? I’d love to know if the process takes a long time (I’ll be landing in Nosy Be, exhausted after nearly 15 hours of travel), what the cost is, and—since corruption isn’t just a word—whether you absolutely have to grease the palm of the official(s). This is because I almost took the next flight back when I arrived in a country I won’t name. Even though all my documents were in order—passport, visa, vaccinations, hotel reservation—the immigration officer initially refused to stamp my passport. I later found out I was supposed to slip at least $10 into the document when presenting it... Thanks! /d