Do Monegasque passport holders need a visa for France?
By Aarush Chopra · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated · Reviewed by Simran Raheja
No. Monégasque citizens do not need a visa to visit France. Monaco and France have had an open border since the 1963 customs union, so there are no immigration checks at all on the road, bus and rail crossings between the two, and France handles Monaco’s external border controls on Monaco’s behalf. Arriving in France from anywhere else, a Monégasque passport gives visa-free entry to the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
Quick facts
Visa-free- Visa required
- No, visa-free entry
- Crossing from Monaco
- No border control at all
- Maximum stay
- 90 days in any 180-day period, Schengen-wide
- Purpose covered
- Tourism, family visits, business meetings
- EES registration
- Exempt: Monaco is named in the EU exemption list
- ETIAS
- Exempt: Monégasque nationals never need one
- Cost
- Free
Entry requirements
- A valid Monégasque passport. Crossing the land border from Monaco you will not be asked for it, but carry it: it is what establishes your right to be in France if you are ever asked.
- Nothing to apply for and nothing to declare in advance. There is no arrival form, no authorisation and no fee.
- Arriving in France by air or sea from outside the Schengen Area, the ordinary visa-exempt rules apply and you pass through a normal immigration check.
- Proof of onward travel and accommodation is not routinely requested on this route, but an officer at an airport border is entitled to ask.
What happens when you cross
On the land border there is no process. The Franco-Monégasque customs union removed internal checks, so the crossing between Nice and Monaco is not a border in any practical sense: no booth, no passport, no stamp. Monaco has no airport of its own, so almost every arrival by air is through Nice, and that is a French border rather than a Monégasque one.
At a French airport arriving from outside the Schengen Area, you use the third-country lane and show your passport. The 90-day allowance is counted across the whole Schengen Area, not per country, and time spent in France counts towards it in the ordinary way.
You are not enrolled in the Entry/Exit System. Since 10 April 2026 most non-EU travellers have their face and fingerprints registered at the Schengen border, but the EU exemption list names nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino alongside Vatican and Holy See passport holders, so a Monégasque passport is not registered and is not biometrically checked on entry.
Good to know
- The two border changes everyone else is preparing for do not apply to you. The EU names Monaco in the exemption list for the Entry/Exit System, live since 10 April 2026, and separately exempts Monégasque nationals from ETIAS whenever that launches. If you have read that Schengen travel now means biometric registration and, later, a paid travel authorisation, both are true and neither is true of a Monégasque passport.
- ETIAS is not in force for anybody yet. The EU has not announced a start date, and the last quarter of 2026 target that circulated for over a year was dropped from the official pages. Sites still selling ETIAS applications for imminent travel are selling something that does not exist, and it would not apply to a Monégasque passport in any case.
- The open border is with France specifically, not with the Schengen Area generally. Flying from Nice to Dublin or London is leaving the Schengen Area and is an ordinary international departure, with the usual checks at the far end. The seamlessness stops at the French frontier.
- Residents of Monaco who are not Monégasque nationals travel on their own passport, not on Monaco’s status. A Monaco residence card does not carry these exemptions across to a third-country passport, and roughly three quarters of Monaco’s population are not Monégasque citizens, so this catches more people than the exemption itself covers.
Frequently asked questions
Do Monaco citizens need a visa for France?
No. Monégasque citizens enter France without a visa, and crossing the land border from Monaco there is no immigration check at all.
Is there a border control between Monaco and France?
No. The 1963 Franco-Monégasque customs union removed internal checks. You can drive, walk or take the train between Nice and Monaco without showing a passport.
Do Monégasque nationals need ETIAS?
No. Nationals of Monaco, Andorra and San Marino, and Vatican or Holy See passport holders, are exempt from ETIAS. It is also not in force for anyone yet, as the EU has not announced a start date.
Are Monaco passport holders registered in the EES?
No. The EU exemption list for the Entry/Exit System names Monaco, so a Monégasque passport is not enrolled and your fingerprints and photo are not taken at the Schengen border.
How long can a Monaco citizen stay in France?
Ninety days in any 180-day period as a visitor, counted across the whole Schengen Area rather than per country. Staying longer means applying for a French residence permit.
Related pages
Other passports for France
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on .
- European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs — "The Entry Exit System is fully operational since 10 April 2026. Who is exempt?", 27 July 2026 (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu)
- European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs — "The Entry/Exit System (EES) is fully operational", 10 April 2026 (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu)
- Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 establishing ETIAS, Article 2 exemptions (eur-lex.europa.eu)
- Ambassade de Monaco en France — Visiting Monaco (ambassade-en-france.gouv.mc)
Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.
