France | Olympic consulate begins operations

The French government has launched a new Olympic consulate system to process visa applications for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2024.

Key Points:

• Nearly 70,000 participants are expected to apply for visas in connection with the Paris games, in addition to visitors seeking tourist visas.
• French authorities have begun operating the new Olympic consulate system for processing applications entirely online via the government’s France-Visas online platform.
• The Paris 2024 official website provides additional information for those traveling to the Olympic games, which will take place from July 26 to Aug. 11.

Additional Information: The EU agreed in November to introduce an online visa system throughout the Schengen zone. Officials stated that a digital system will be more secure and provide additional convenience to travelers by avoiding the need to bring documents or wait for an in-person appointment. The Olympic consulate system represents France’s first venture into processing e-visas and a similar digitalized visa process. Officials will process short-stay visa applications for accredited individuals and issue e-visas that will be stored directly on participants’ official Olympic passes.

BAL Analysis: Travelers should be aware that appointment and processing delays may occur due to the significant increase in visitors during this time. BAL will continue following developments in the lead-up to the Olympic games and will provide updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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