In a move that will be welcomed by India’s fast-growing community of long-haul business travellers, the French Embassy in New Delhi confirmed on 23 April that airport-transit visas (ATVs) are no longer required for Indian citizens changing planes in France. The exemption, set out in a decree that quietly entered into force on 10 April, applies to all French airports as long as the traveller remains in the international transit zone and continues to a non-Schengen destination within 24 hours.
![France Abolishes Airport Transit Visa Requirement for Indian Nationals]()
For Indian passengers who still need assistance with other travel documents—such as Schengen short-stay visas when an overnight stop becomes necessary—VisaHQ offers a fast, fully online application service and expert support for France and dozens of other countries. Travellers can check requirements, upload paperwork, and track processing progress in one dashboard at https://www.visahq.com/france/
Until now, Indian passport holders making even a two-hour connection in Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) or Lyon Saint-Exupéry had to lodge an ATV application, submit biometrics and pay a €99 fee—costs that airlines said deterred customers from routing through France. Airlines and global travel-management companies (TMCs) estimate that the waiver could redirect up to 180,000 Indian passenger segments per year from Gulf hubs to Air France-KLM and its SkyTeam partners. The policy shift follows pledges made by President Emmanuel Macron during his February 2026 state visit to India to “smooth the path” for bilateral trade and talent mobility. Behind the scenes, Paris pushed for reciprocal facilitation: later this year France will receive landing-rights parity at Bengaluru’s new Terminal 2 for its flag carrier. For corporate mobility teams the implications are immediate. Employees with Indian passports can now book cheaper, same-ticket itineraries via CDG to Latin America or West Africa without factoring in visa lead-times. Companies should, however, remind travellers that the exemption does not convert the international zone into a Schengen entry—leaving the terminal for a meeting or overnight hotel still requires a regular short-stay visa. TMCs also advise passengers to carry printed proof of their onward ticket and meet airline visa-waiver coding requirements (code “FRA/ATV-EXEMPT/INDIA APR 2026”) to avoid erroneous gate denials during the early rollout phase.
For Indian passengers who still need assistance with other travel documents—such as Schengen short-stay visas when an overnight stop becomes necessary—VisaHQ offers a fast, fully online application service and expert support for France and dozens of other countries. Travellers can check requirements, upload paperwork, and track processing progress in one dashboard at https://www.visahq.com/france/
Until now, Indian passport holders making even a two-hour connection in Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) or Lyon Saint-Exupéry had to lodge an ATV application, submit biometrics and pay a €99 fee—costs that airlines said deterred customers from routing through France. Airlines and global travel-management companies (TMCs) estimate that the waiver could redirect up to 180,000 Indian passenger segments per year from Gulf hubs to Air France-KLM and its SkyTeam partners. The policy shift follows pledges made by President Emmanuel Macron during his February 2026 state visit to India to “smooth the path” for bilateral trade and talent mobility. Behind the scenes, Paris pushed for reciprocal facilitation: later this year France will receive landing-rights parity at Bengaluru’s new Terminal 2 for its flag carrier. For corporate mobility teams the implications are immediate. Employees with Indian passports can now book cheaper, same-ticket itineraries via CDG to Latin America or West Africa without factoring in visa lead-times. Companies should, however, remind travellers that the exemption does not convert the international zone into a Schengen entry—leaving the terminal for a meeting or overnight hotel still requires a regular short-stay visa. TMCs also advise passengers to carry printed proof of their onward ticket and meet airline visa-waiver coding requirements (code “FRA/ATV-EXEMPT/INDIA APR 2026”) to avoid erroneous gate denials during the early rollout phase.
