Hello,

I have a Air-France ticket for 28th Jan (coming Friday) from Toronto – New Delhi (via Paris).

I am on a student visa here & hold Indian Passport.

When I purchased the ticket from the agent, I wasn’t informed of any kind of transit visa requirement. But when I called Air-France today I was told that I will require transit visa at Paris since I am not holding Canadian permanent residence.

I have searched internet, but there seems to be confusion on this topic & there is no definite answer. I am going to contact French consulate tomorrow, but if you have any information please let me know.

my email :

Regards,
Saurav

No personal experience, but recently one of my friends in the US went to India via Paris and they were required to take a transit visa for France.
They were not Permanent Residents of the US (no Green Card).
They were in fact turned back on the day of the flight by Air France agents and had to re-schedule the flight for getting the visa.

I would assume that the same rule might apply to Indian nationals in Canada who are not PRs.

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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."

-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"

YES....you do need a transit VISA. My mother-in Law was to return home via Paris and she had to get the transit VISA. It's not a big deal. The office is on Bloor St, one and half block west of Bay. I do not remember the fees but it was nominal. You get the VISA in abt 10 mins. There is hardly any line up and keep all necessary docs with you like passport, air tkt and whatever more you can take.

All the best

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Let's help each other to grow & prosper in Canada

Did you get any more info after calling the consulate ? This whole Transit Visa thing sucks

Last month my wie was to go Via London but they didnt let her board the plane because she did not have USGC nor british transit visa. We showed them Canadian Immigrant visa but they didnt acknowledge by saying you havent landed yet so you are not PR.

So we spent $ 150 per ticket and rescheduled via Paris. They let her board the flight without transit visa.

Now I am supposed to fly also via Paris next Friday and I read this post last night. What the f !!! I am going to call the French consulate here in Houston today.

From my reading on the website, though its not very clear it seems you will be ok i you have unexpired US or Canada visa ie you student or H1 or other visas should still be valid to enter US/Canada.
Please update if anyone has more info,

Thanks

Hi Saurav:


I don't understand why do you need a transit visa if you have onward connected flight from Charled de Gaul airport. I used to fly at a 6 months interval from dominican republic to delhi and return via Paris and never they (air France) asked for transit visa. Onetime though i took one because the connected flight had a stop gap of 24 hours and I did exit from the airport.

Check your connected flight detail, if its at few hours gap and you don't like to exit from the airport, i don't think you do need a transit visa.

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New Guy
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We can always do better!

That's right. I also do not understand why anyone would need a transit visa unless he is getting out of the airport. In most airports, transit passengers remain inside the "secure" area, the one where you go after having checked in for security. So, if you are not leaving the airport and clearing customs, why should you need a transit visa only to change planes. Is there a requirement to change terminals by any chance? Or is the airline putting you up in a hotel till the time you get your onward connecting flight?
Can someone who is travelling Paris and has been asked to get this visa ask this question to the French embassy and see what they have to say. What makes them so different from the others? And that too, as we see here some people have travelled thro Paris without that visa. How come?

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Diogenes
====================
The Cynic

I think if you are a PR of a country that does not require visa (like Canada, US), then you won't need a visa.
If you are on a non-immigrant visa in US or Canada, then it seems you need a visa even though you are only hopping planes.

This is crazy, innit?

But that is what I have heard from more than one person.
Especially the case of my friends from the US who were turned back on the day of the flight at check-in time because they didn't have transit visa.
It seems a few countries like the UK and France have changed rules recently and most travel agents are not aware of it.

This sucks big time.
I wish the customers vote with their feet by refusing to travel on those airlines and simply travelling via countries that don't have this stupidity.
These airlines are all nationalised and half-bankrupt anyway and once they lose all or most South Asian customers, their executives might try and drive some sense into the heads of their own governments.

Imagine how many thousands of $$ each day British Airways would lose if all Indians crossing the Atlantic refuse to fly through them.

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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."

-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"