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Entry requirement · Germany passport

Do German citizens need a visa for France?

Passport

Germany

Destination

France

Germany passport holders can enter France without a visa.

Answer Visa-free

No visa needed

Entry requirement: Visa-free
Maximum stay: Check on entry
Apply before travel: No
Last updated: February 2026

Before you travel

Checked November 2026

⚠️ The official ETIAS site says it is the only EU website that takes ETIAS applications directly and warns that intermediary sites collect your data and charge extra; ETIAS is not yet accepting applications, so any site selling one now is not official. Use only the official links below.

At the border

Passport (or travel document) must have been issued within the last 10 years and stay valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave the Schengen area.
Visa-free and visa holders alike may stay no more than 90 days in any rolling 180-day period, counted across all Schengen countries together.
Entry/Exit System: on your first crossing since EES started, border officers record your passport data, a facial image and fingerprints; passports are no longer stamped since 10 April 2026.
Border police may ask for proof of accommodation, a return ticket (or money to buy one), funds and travel medical insurance covering hospital costs and repatriation.
France sets funds at EUR 65 per day with a hotel booking or EUR 120 per day without one; guests staying with a private host need a town-hall-validated 'attestation d'accueil' plus at least EUR 32.50 per day.
Visa applicants need travel medical insurance valid across the Schengen area with at least EUR 30,000 cover, including emergency care and repatriation.

Recent changes

October 2025: the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) began a phased rollout at external borders on 12 October 2025.
April 2026: EES became fully operational on 10 April 2026 and replaced manual passport stamping for short-stay non-EU visitors.
July 2025: the European Commission set the future ETIAS fee at EUR 20 instead of EUR 7; ETIAS itself has not launched.

Official source: France-Visas (official visa website of the French government) · Not yet confirmed officially: France-Visas own warning about look-alike visa sites (not checked; scamWarning uses the EU ETIAS statement instead), France-Visas FAQ figure of EUR 90 seen only in a search excerpt; fee confirmed separately on EU and German official pages, Minimum insurance amount (EUR 30,000) not stated on the France-Visas pages read; it is the Schengen-wide rule confirmed on the German mission page

What Germany passport holders need to do

Check your passport validity. Many countries ask for at least 6 months beyond your arrival date.
Be ready to show a return or onward ticket, proof of accommodation and proof of funds at the border.
Leave before the permitted stay ends. Working or studying usually needs a different visa.

France is in the Schengen area, so days spent in any Schengen country count toward the same limit. Use the Schengen 90/180 calculator to check how many days you have left.

Germany is one of 93 passports in the “visa-free” group for France. See the full France visa requirements for every passport.

Other easy destinations in Europe for Germany passport holders

France is one of 126 destinations in the “visa-free” group for the Germany passport, which ranks #3 worldwide with a mobility score of 165. Of 45 destinations in Europe, 44 need no visa arranged in advance; the easiest are listed below.

Destination	Requirement	Max stay
Albania	Visa-free	90 days
Andorra	Visa-free	–
Austria	Visa-free	–
Belarus	Visa-free	30 days
Belgium	Visa-free	–
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa-free	90 days
Bulgaria	Visa-free	–
Croatia	Visa-free	–
Cyprus	Visa-free	–
Czech Republic	Visa-free	–
Denmark	Visa-free	–
Estonia	Visa-free	–