Obtaining a French Polynesian Long Stay Visa
A very useful guide on how to obtain an LS Visa for French Polynesia, what to do beforehand and what to do on arrival. The main stumbling block seems to be the French Polynesia postal system. Be sure to apply at least 6 weeks beforehand.
Published 7 years ago, updated 6 years ago
By Chuck Houlihan of SY Jacaranda
Things have changed since I first wrote this document and it is regularly updated. It includes what to expect when you arrive and the additional paperwork required. Especially important is the issue of medical insurance and reducing the length of the visa to expire when your medical insurance renewal is due. People didn’t realize they were not getting the full year when applying!!
See the new report (February 2020) at – Obtaining a French Polynesian Long Stay Visa
Related to following destinations: Ecuador, French Polynesia
I am finding that there is conflicting guidance on obtaining a long-stay visa for French Polynesia (FP). It seems that there is now a requirement to appear, in person, at specific French Consulates or Embassies in order to submit “biometric data”. This must be completed prior to arriving in FP and, depending on where you apply, involves providing various documentation like a medical certificate, criminal history records, etc.. In addition, the stated time it takes to process the long-stay visa varies greatly, also depending on where you apply, e.g. if you apply at the San Francisco Consulate it’s 2-3 weeks; at Wellington, NZ it’s 2-3 months. Very difficult to plan and nearly impossible to execute given the disparity in requirements. Your thoughts?
LoganME
We are not experts but that is how we summarized things in our short write up
I am not sure what more i can say…..”Part #1 Applying for a Long Stay Visa in French Polynesia It appears that each French embassy or consulate has their own flavor of what is required and how long it takes to obtain a long term visa for French Polynesia.”
You know some things are just a mystery. Like why have different requirements depending on location. The US requires all the material to be translated. They also require a police report. Some places take months longer than others. Since ALL the data is being sent to Papeete for processing it does not make any sense.
But with that said many folks are down here on LS visa’s having gone thru the same thing you mention so it can be done. In my opinion its worth all the hassle as FP is a wonderful country and its huge. So much to see and such a big area.
Good luck with the process
Chuck
Jacaranda
Tahiti