France Granted a Record Number of Visas for Tourism and Employment in 2023

French authorities reported an increase in visa issuance for 2023, with short-stay visas for tourism and work purposes being the primary drivers of this growth. According to the most recent immigration report by the French Interior Ministry, the number of visa applications is up by 27.2 per cent compared to the previous year, while 40.4 per cent more visas were issued during the same period.

Although the demand for visas is on the rise, volumes in 2023 are below 2019 levels, while long-stay visas have reached a new record in 2023 at 295,447. In 2023, 2.9 million visa applications were filed, with 17 per cent or a total of 506,886 requests being refused. The data further shows that 2.4 million visas were issued – the majority were short-term visas, representing 71.2 per cent of all visas, followed by long-term visas (12.1 per cent), and around 4,741 were transit visas.

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Chinese nationals received the largest number of visas in France for 2023, contributing significantly to the overall increase in visa issuances. Moroccan and Indian nationals hold the second and third positions, respectively. In total, 371,224 visas were issued to Chinese, around 241,571 to Moroccans, while Indians obtained 213,500.

The list of the top 15 nationalities that received visas the most is as follows:
1. Chinese: 371,224
2. Moroccans: 241,571
3. Indians: 213,500
4. Algerians: 209,723
5. Turks: 130,851
6. Russians: 116,253
7. Saudis: 109,786
8. Tunisians: 97,858
9. Lebanese: 60,374
10. Filipinos: 54,331
11. Thais: 44,136
12. Egyptians: 43,660
13. Ivorians: 42,023
14. South Africans: 41,876
15. Nigerians: 37,417

In 2023, the issuance of short-term visas was on the rise, especially those for tourism purposes, which increased by 57.7 per cent while those issued for work purposes were up by 42.4 per cent. 363,177 visas were issued for work purposes, followed by family reunification purposes (8,367) and on study grounds (12,428).

Nearly 300,000 long-stay visas were issued in 2023, with over half of them being “long-stay visas serving as residence permits” (VLS-TS), reaching the highest record in 2023. Additionally, Visas issued in the Overseas Departments and Territories (DOM-CTOM) have increased by 1.7 per cent in 2023, considerably slower than those in metropolitan France.