Beijing has prolonged its visa-waiver experiment for six European nations, including France, through to 31 December 2026. The Chinese Embassy in Paris confirmed the decision on 15 February, the day the previous six-month pilot was due to lapse. French passport-holders may now enter China visa-free for stays of up to 15 days for tourism, business or family visits. Longer assignments and paid work still require appropriate permits.
The extension is a coup for French exporters eager to re-engage China’s post-pandemic market: bilateral trade topped €88 billion in 2025, but business-travel volumes remain 18 % below 2019 levels. French corporates see the waiver as slashing lead-times— standard L-visa processing at Paris’s CVASC currently runs 7–10 working days, plus courier time for out-of-region applicants.
![China extends visa-free entry for French citizens until 31 December 2026]()
Travel operators likewise expect a lift. ASATA, France’s business-travel association, predicts a 12 % hike in Sino-French trip requests this spring, particularly among SMEs that balked at visa costs. Air France already plans to restore twice-daily Paris–Shanghai A350 flights from March, citing “strengthening demand now that the administrative barrier has gone.”
France is reciprocating only partially: Chinese nationals still need Schengen visas, but can benefit from France’s two-year multiple-entry scheme for “trusted business travellers,” provided they hold at least two previously-used Schengen visas.
The extension is a coup for French exporters eager to re-engage China’s post-pandemic market: bilateral trade topped €88 billion in 2025, but business-travel volumes remain 18 % below 2019 levels. French corporates see the waiver as slashing lead-times— standard L-visa processing at Paris’s CVASC currently runs 7–10 working days, plus courier time for out-of-region applicants.
Travel operators likewise expect a lift. ASATA, France’s business-travel association, predicts a 12 % hike in Sino-French trip requests this spring, particularly among SMEs that balked at visa costs. Air France already plans to restore twice-daily Paris–Shanghai A350 flights from March, citing “strengthening demand now that the administrative barrier has gone.”
France is reciprocating only partially: Chinese nationals still need Schengen visas, but can benefit from France’s two-year multiple-entry scheme for “trusted business travellers,” provided they hold at least two previously-used Schengen visas.
Source: Travel and Tour World
