Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 18-09-2019, 10:17   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 3
Visas for French Polynesia

My family and I are planning to sail to FP. What are your experiences with obtaining a long stay visa for FP? How much money do you need to have in the bank to qualify? Also, anyone ever sail in to FP for the 90 day visa, leave at the end of the visa and then return to FP for another 90 day visa? Is that a legit way to do it if you can't get the long stay visa? Thanks in advance.
KailaP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-09-2019, 19:35   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Perth
Posts: 18
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

You should find all the info you need in Chuck and Linda's Sailing Jacaranda blog;

https://www.jacarandajourney.com/other-good-stuff

Ha ! My first post I that I could actually help someone. What do I win ?
baders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-09-2019, 21:27   #3
Senior Cruiser
 
bstreep's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: San Antonio, TX/Bocas del Toro, Panama
Boat: 1990 Macintosh 47, "Merlin"
Posts: 2,844
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Friends of ours just imported their boat there, after many years of dealing with the hassles of being from somewhere other than FP. Here's their blog: https://my.getjealous.com/liward
__________________
Bill Streep
San Antonio, TX (but cruising)
www.janandbill.com
bstreep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 00:07   #4
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: French Polynesia
Boat: Allied 39
Posts: 886
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Quote:
Originally Posted by KailaP View Post
My family and I are planning to sail to FP. What are your experiences with obtaining a long stay visa for FP? How much money do you need to have in the bank to qualify? Also, anyone ever sail in to FP for the 90 day visa, leave at the end of the visa and then return to FP for another 90 day visa? Is that a legit way to do it if you can't get the long stay visa? Thanks in advance.


Most non EU boats sail to FP without a long stay visa. But you have to be out of the country I think for 6 months before you can re-enter. It use to be you could make a quick trip down to the Cooks and come straight back.

Importing the vessel (called papeetized) has nothing to do if you are on a long stay, short stay visa. The boat can stay 3 years. Most non EU folks can stay 90 days

What nationality are you?

Chuck
Jacaranda
__________________
www.jacarandajourney.com
chouliha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 03:08   #5
Senior Cruiser
 
GordMay's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,082
Images: 241
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, KailaP.
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"



GordMay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 09:09   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2014
Boat: Outremer 51
Posts: 110
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Getting a long stay visa for FP can be quite frustrating. I did it earlier this year. The two favorite choices are to apply in Panama or Ecuador as once you have the visa you must arrive in FP within 90 days ( or less if the visa processing is delayed). I got mine in Ecuador and while you are applying they keep your passport, so you can’t leave without collecting your passport, which I believe aborts your application. I have heard that in Panama they do not keep your passport.

In FP they only review the applications once a month, so the minimum time for processing is 6 weeks and it could be 10 weeks. In our case it was about 10 weeks. The visa only grants you the right to apply for a Carte de Sejour when you arrive, which is the actual thing that allows you to stay more than 90 days. That only takes a few weeks to process, but the only high commission in the Marquesas is in Nuku Hiva, which is where you must go in person to apply. Once you have the CDS you can come and go as you wish for a year and it can be renewed in the final two months for another year. The boat is granted tax free stay in FP for 3 years upon arrival. You’ll need an agent to help you in Tahiti, who will collect you CDS and ship it to you if you want - I used Tahiti Crew and they were very helpful.

As I say, it is a trial, but worth it I think as FP is a great place to sail around slowly. The non-visa version is that you can stay for 90 days in every 180, just like France. So after the 90 days you cannot return for another 90 days.

Hope this helps. Check SVSoggyPaws.com for some more detailed docs.

Hamish
HBrew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 09:47   #7
Moderator Emeritus
 
roverhi's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Carlsbad, CA
Boat: 1976 Sabre 28-2
Posts: 7,505
Send a message via Yahoo to roverhi
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Question Hamish, did you get the year Carte de Sejour because you had done the Long Stay Visa runaround before arriving in FP or can you get a year applying in Nuka Hiva??

We loved the Marquesas and Tuamotus and would have spent our whole year there. We had a 6 month visa which gave us the right to stay away from Papeete till it was up. Wish we'd gotten a years visa as the 6 months just wasn't enough. This is all history as things have undoubtedly changed. The thing is do whatever you can to get the longest stay possible if exploring out of the way places is your thing. There are so many Islands and places to go in the Marquesas and Tuamotus which are an upwind slog if you have to go to Papeete to get an extended stay visa.
__________________
Peter O.
'Ae'a, Pearson 35
'Ms American Pie', Sabre 28 Mark II
roverhi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 09:51   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: French Polynesia
Boat: Allied 39
Posts: 886
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Quote:
Originally Posted by HBrew View Post
Getting a long stay visa for FP can be quite frustrating. I did it earlier this year. The two favorite choices are to apply in Panama or Ecuador as once you have the visa you must arrive in FP within 90 days ( or less if the visa processing is delayed). I got mine in Ecuador and while you are applying they keep your passport, so you can’t leave without collecting your passport, which I believe aborts your application. I have heard that in Panama they do not keep your passport.

In FP they only review the applications once a month, so the minimum time for processing is 6 weeks and it could be 10 weeks. In our case it was about 10 weeks. The visa only grants you the right to apply for a Carte de Sejour when you arrive, which is the actual thing that allows you to stay more than 90 days. That only takes a few weeks to process, but the only high commission in the Marquesas is in Nuku Hiva, which is where you must go in person to apply. Once you have the CDS you can come and go as you wish for a year and it can be renewed in the final two months for another year. The boat is granted tax free stay in FP for 3 years upon arrival. You’ll need an agent to help you in Tahiti, who will collect you CDS and ship it to you if you want - I used Tahiti Crew and they were very helpful.

As I say, it is a trial, but worth it I think as FP is a great place to sail around slowly. The non-visa version is that you can stay for 90 days in every 180, just like France. So after the 90 days you cannot return for another 90 days.

Hope this helps. Check SVSoggyPaws.com for some more detailed docs.

Hamish
I have been monitoring the FP LS visa for years and its the first time I have heard that the HC office in Papeete only processes visa's once a month.

Interesting news. I will need to update my FP LS document

May I ask where you obtained that information?

Processing the carte de sejour can take up to 5 months to process so you are very lucky to get it in 2 weeks Good on ya. When we first arrived 5 years ago they told arriving boats that the carte de sejour would take 2 months now the letter from the hc office states 6.

You do not have to go to Nuku Hiva to start your application for a carte de sejour. Tahtii Crew can do that for you if you send the necessary documents by air to them. Folks in the Gambiers often do start the process from there. As I explain in my write up on LS visa's you need to appear at the haute commissionaires office in person either when submitting or picking up.

Safe sailing

Chuck
Jacaranda
Mo'orea
__________________
www.jacarandajourney.com
chouliha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 09:54   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: French Polynesia
Boat: Allied 39
Posts: 886
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Quote:
Originally Posted by roverhi View Post
Question Hamish, did you get the year Carte de Sejour because you had done the Long Stay Visa runaround before arriving in FP or can you get a year applying in Nuka Hiva??

We loved the Marquesas and Tuamotus and would have spent our whole year there. We had a 6 month visa which gave us the right to stay away from Papeete till it was up. Wish we'd gotten a years visa as the 6 months just wasn't enough. This is all history as things have undoubtedly changed. The thing is do whatever you can to get the longest stay possible if exploring out of the way places is your thing. There are so many Islands and places to go in the Marquesas and Tuamotus which are an upwind slog if you have to go to Papeete to get an extended stay visa.
You can only apply for a LS visa from outside French Polynesia unless your spouse is a EU citizen. If that is the case then you can apply when you arrive if you have a valid original marriage certificate.

Regards

Chuck
Jacaranda
Mo'orea
__________________
www.jacarandajourney.com
chouliha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 11:14   #10
Registered User
 
Marathon1150's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Boat: Beneteau Idylle 1150
Posts: 666
Images: 13
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

I can echo the comments that obtaining a long stay FP visa for non-EU nationals (or their spouses) is confusing and frustrating. In Vancouver, Canada, visa processing has been outsourced to a private provider that seems keen to maximize financial gain. They are particularly opaque about required documentation and are not able to guarantee or even estimate processing time. Their only advice is to be prepared to surrender your passport for up to 6 weeks.

Then, somebody makes a subjective decision to issue either a 6 month or 12 month visa, with no apparent reference to what was requested.

It is interesting to see how processing works differently in different places. This is not super unusual for government bureaucracies, but it is frustrating. We will be applying for another one in Wellington NZ. Fingers crossed.

Good luck, I hope that it works out well for you.
__________________
Desolation Island is situated in a third region, somewhere between elsewhere and everywhere.
Jean-Paul Kauffmann
Marathon1150 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 15:58   #11
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 3
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

We are American. We want to leave Cali in November and are going to Baja until about February. What I'm getting from my reasearch (other peoples sharing of experiences) is that it's been taking about 3 weeks to process and that I can only indicate the start date for the visa 3 months from when I submit the application, then I have three months to get there. We were planning to get to FP in March sometime, which means I should've applied for the visa last week? Thanks for all your input. Keep it coming. We may also end up doing the 90 days in 90 days out.
KailaP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 15:59   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 3
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Could we go to the Cooks and apply for LS visa from there? Hmmm
KailaP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 19:07   #13
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2014
Boat: Outremer 51
Posts: 110
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

I don’t think you can get a CDS upon arrival, you must apply for the Long Stay Visa outside the country before you arrive, when you apply for the visa you say how long you want to stay and we chose one year. You must show that you have annually renewable health insurance that is compliant and sufficient funds. There is a website that indicates the standard funds required per day per person for visiting France and we used that as a guide.
HBrew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 19:10   #14
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2014
Boat: Outremer 51
Posts: 110
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

.Tahiti Crew told me that the long stay visas are reviewed once a month.

It’s true that you do not have to go to Nuku Hiva, but you must either go in person to a high commission when you apply for or pickup your CDS. As we did not want to go to Tahiti to pickup the CDS, for us, the only practical option was to apply in person at the high commission in Nuku Hiva.
HBrew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2019, 21:56   #15
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: French Polynesia
Boat: Allied 39
Posts: 886
Re: Visas for French Polynesia

Quote:
Originally Posted by KailaP View Post
We are American. We want to leave Cali in November and are going to Baja until about February. What I'm getting from my reasearch (other peoples sharing of experiences) is that it's been taking about 3 weeks to process and that I can only indicate the start date for the visa 3 months from when I submit the application, then I have three months to get there. We were planning to get to FP in March sometime, which means I should've applied for the visa last week? Thanks for all your input. Keep it coming. We may also end up doing the 90 days in 90 days out.


I think you maybe slightly confused on the timing. Have you had a look at my How to apply for a FP Long Stay visa document? www.jacarandajourney.com under other good stuff. I explain the timing. Happy to help answer any question you may have. Drop me a line via email.

Chuck
Jacaranda
__________________
www.jacarandajourney.com
chouliha is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
enc, French Polynesia

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
French territories- French Polynesia and New Caledonia ozzieKochie Pacific & South China Sea 11 17-04-2022 02:17
Aussies applying for Spain/Italy/French/Maltese Visas karabil Rules of the Road, Regulations & Red Tape 0 10-04-2016 23:36
French Polynesia Crusing Guide Limpet Pacific & South China Sea 14 05-06-2008 05:19
Visa Requirements French Polynesia Mark van Niekerk Pacific & South China Sea 1 29-01-2008 03:55
Quite a Story, Lagoon Cat in French Polynesia starfish62 Pacific & South China Sea 14 28-06-2006 07:50

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 22:46.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.