French authorities issued more visas in 2023, with short-stay visas for tourism and work purposes being the main drivers for this increase.
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 this period.
Although the demand for visas is on the rise, volumes in 2023 are below 2019 levels, while long-stay visas have been even higher, reaching a new record in 2023 – standing at 295,447.
In other words, 2.9 million visa applications were filed in 2023, with 17 per cent or a total of 506,886 requests being refused.
The data further show 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.
Chinese, Indians & Moroccans Were Issued Most Visas in 2023
Chinese nationals received the largest number of visas in France for 2023, marking a substantial rise over the preceding two years. This upswing in visas issued to Chinese citizens alone contributed to nearly 40 per cent of 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:
| Nationalities | Visas Issued in 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Total | 2,440,125 |
Short-Term Visas on the Rise, Especially for Tourism Purposes
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.
In other words, 363,177 visas were issued for work purposes, followed by family reunification purposes (8,367) and on study grounds (12,428),
While visas for tourism and employment were up, the number of study visas dropped by 12.4 per cent compared to 2022 levels. In general, the issuance rate for visas was 34.1 per cent more than in the previous year.
Long-Terms Visas in 2023 Reach a Record High
Nearly 300,000 long-stay visas were issued, with over half of them being “long-stay visas serving as residence permits” (VLS-TS), reaching the highest record in 2023.
In addition, Visas issued in the Overseas Departments and Territories (DOM-CTOM), which represented 5.7 per cent of total visa issuance across France, have increased by 1.7 per cent in 2023, considerably slower than those in metropolitan France.
