Citizens of non-EU countries need a visa to attend Paris Olympics 2024 which are going to be held in France from 26 July to 11 August. Fans and visitors need a Schengen visa to visit Paris to attend all the games and events. According to new Schengen visa rules, the application can be submitted as soon as six months before the travel date.
What type of Schengen visa to apply?
The fans and visitors only need to apply for a standard Schengen visa. This visa grants permission for short-term visits of up to 90 days within a 180-day period. During the validity of this visa, visitors can not only visit France but also other 28 Schengen member zone countries.
The French authorities are expecting 70,000 to be issued to the following categories:
| Supporters | Persons invited by the OCOG | Members of the Olympic Family accredited by the 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG), |
| The supporters need a standard uniform Schengen visa to travel to France. They need to apply it to the France Visa website. | They do not need to pay the visa application and the service fee. They need an “Accreditation Card” and associated Schengen Visa from the newly-opened “Olympic Consulate.” Note that the Schengen Visa is requested as part of the Accreditation Card application. They do not need to submit their passport for the visa. The visa number will be mentioned on the Accreditation Card. They need limited documents to apply for the visa. They can also request OCOG to help them get the visa. | They do not need to pay the visa application and the service fee. They need an “Accreditation Card” and associated Schengen Visa from the newly-opened “Olympic Consulate.” Note that the Schengen Visa is requested as part of the Accreditation Card application. They do not need to submit their passport for the visa. The visa number will be mentioned on the Accrediation Card. They need limited documents to apply for the visa. They can also request OCOG to help them get the visa. |
Understanding Single entry Rules of Schengen visa
Unlike visit visas in other countries, the single entry visa of France allows you to only enter once from outside the Schengen zone. If you exit the Schengen zone, you cannot enter there again even if you have your visa still valid. But during the validity of the visa, you can make as many tours as you want inside Schengen zone member states. If you get a multiple-entry Schengen visa, then you have limitless entries and exits allowed to France and other member states.
Schengen visa fee
You need to pay the Schengen visa fee when you apply for the Olympics. The table below shows you how much one needs to pay for the adults and children. There can be another administrative fee such as a third-party visa application collection fee or Biometrics fee (it could be 40 Euros extra in addition to the visa fee). You need to ask the relevant bodies in your country. Mostly, these are VFS Global, TLS Contact, or BLS International. It is also possible that the embassy of France in your country directly receives the visa application from you.
| Schengen Visa Category | Fee in EUR |
| Adult applicant | 80€ |
| Children between 6-12 years of age | 40€ |
| Children younger than 6 years of age | Free |
| Holders of diplomatic, official, or service passports traveling for official purposes | Free |
| A family member of an EU/EEA national | Free |
| Pupils, students, and accompanying teachers during a school trip | Free |
| Researchers traveling to perform scientific research | Free |
| Nationals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. | 35€ |
Depending on your nationality and the embassy of France rules in your country, you may need to submit the visa application with different documents. These can be as follows:
- You need to apply for the visa on the France visa website;
- Passport sized photograph;
- A valid passport ;
- Letter of invitation from your host in France (optional);
- Enough financial resources to bear your expenses in France for the events you want to attend. It depends on your conditions such as:
- how long you will stay and if you will stay in a hotel, or with relatives or friends. You will need a bank statement to show readily available money. Credit cards, the property you own and bonds can also be counted as helpful in showing your financial circumstances;
- You should be able to convince the immigration service officer that you will leave the Schengen country at the end of your trip, Convince the immigration officer that you have a relationship – such as a job, home, financial assets, or family that will take you back to your country;
- The most important thing is that you have a clean history record and have no immigration-related convictions in any of the Schengen countries as the data is saved and shared through SIS (Schengen Information System);
- Details of hotel bookings minimum from one city in France;
- Any tickets that you have bought online to watch the games in stadium or sports centers;
- In support of an application for a short-term or travel visa, applicants must show that they have adequate and valid individual or group “Travel Medical Insurance”, the minimum coverage is €30,000 for the intended period of stay.
Once you arrange all these documents, book an appointment with the France embassy, consulate, or third-party visa application receiving centers. You can find here the details of French Missions abroad. On the given day, apply for the visa by submitting the documents. In most cases, you can your result for the visa in 2 to 3 weeks. For a more in-depth Schengen visa application process, read here our dedicated article.
Apply for the visa online
France’s immigration website offers a dedicated web page wizard that helps you determine if you need a visa to travel to France for the Olympics or not. You can access the visa wizard here. You can also apply for the visa online on the web portal of France’s immigration website. You can apply it here by creating the account first.
Where to buy the event tickets?
The event ticket can be bought from the official website of the Paris Olympics ticket online shop here.
Who does not need a visa to attend Paris Olympics?
The citizens of EU and Schengen countries do not need a visa to attend the Olympics in France. Furthermore, non-EU citizens who hold a residence permit in these countries also do not need a visa. Nowadays, more than 60 countries (some require special passport requirements) around the world can enter Europe’s visa-free zone without the need to obtain a visa in advance and stay there for 90 days over six months. These are as follows:
| Albania* Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Australia Bahamas Barbados Bosnia and Herzegovina* Brazil Brunei Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominica El Salvador Georgia Grenada Guatemala Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong S.A.R*** | Israel Japan Kiribati Macao S.A.R*** Malaysia Marshall Islands Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Montenegro* Nauru New Zealand Nicaragua North Macedonia Palau Panama Paraguay Peru | Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Samoa Serbia* Seychelles Singapore Solomon Islands South Korea Taiwan** Timor Leste Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Vanuatu Venezuela |
** Taiwan: Visa-free rules apply only if their passport contains an identity card number.
*** Hong Kong & Macau: Visa-free rules apply only to holders of a “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” and “Região Administrativa Especial de Macau” passport.