|
|
|
|
FRANCE
- RED TAPE AND VISAS |
|
|
|
Citizens of EU (European
Union) countries can
travel freely in France;
and citizens of Australia,
Canada, the United States
and New Zealand, among
other countries, do not
need any sort of visa to
enter France, and can stay
for up to ninety days.
However, the situation can
change and it is advisable
to check with your embassy
or consulate before
departure. Note that the
British Visitor's Passport
is no longer available.
EU citizens (or other
non-visa citizens) who stay
longer than three months
are officially supposed to
apply for a carte de s้jour
, for which you'll have to
show proof of income at
least equal to the minimum
wage (at least 6700F/?1025
per month). However, EU
passports are rarely
stamped, so there is no
evidence of how long
you've been in the
country. If your passport
does get stamped, you can
cross the border - to
Belgium or Germany, for
example - and re-enter for
another ninety days
legitimately.
French embassies and
consulates overseas
BRITAIN
Embassy : 58
Knightsbridge, London
SW1X 7JT (tel 020/7201
1004).
Ireland
Embassy : 36
Ailesbury Rd,
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (tel
01/260 1666).
US
Embassy : 4101
Reservoir Rd NW,
Washington DC 20007 (tel
202/944 6195, www.info-france
-usa.org ).
Consulates :
Prominence in Buckhead,
Suite 1840, 3475
Piedmont Rd NE, Atlanta,
GA 30305 (tel 404/495
1660, www.consulatfranceatlanta.org
); 31 St James Ave, Park
Square Building, Suite
750, Boston, MA 02116 (tel
617/542 7374, www.franceboston.com
); 737 North Michigan
Ave, Suite 2020,
Chicago, IL 60611 (tel
312/787 5360, www.france-consulat.org/chicago
); 777 Post Oak Blvd,
Suite 600, Houston, TX
77056 (tel 713/572 2799,
www.consulatfrancehouston.org
); 10990 Wilshire Blvd,
Suite 300, Los Angeles,
CA 90024 (tel 310/235
3200, www.etats-unis.com/consulat
-la ); One Biscayne
Tower, 17th Floor, South
Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL
33131 (tel 305/372 9799,
www.info-france-usa.org/miami
); 1340 Poydras St,
Amoco Building, Suite
1710, New Orleans, LA
70112 (tel 504/523 5772,
www.info-france -usa.org/nouvelle-orleans/index.html
); 934 Fifth Ave, New
York, NY 10021 (tel
212/606 3689, www.franceconsulatny.org
); 540 Bush St, San
Francisco, CA 94108 (tel
415/397 4330, www.accueil-sfo.org
).
CANADA
Embassy : 42
Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON
K1M 2C9 (tel 613/789
1795, www.amba-ottawa.fr
).
Consulates :
777 Main St, Suite 800,
Moncton, NB E1C 1E9 (tel
506/857 4191, www.moncton.consulfrance.org
); 1 place Ville Marie
Bureau 2601, Montreal,
QC H3B 4S3 (tel 514/878
4385, www.montreal.consulat
france.org) ; 25 rue
St-Louis, Qu้bec, QC
G1R 3Y8 (tel 418/694
2294, www.quebec.consulatfrance.org)
; 130 Bloor St West,
Suite 400, Toronto, ON
M5S 1N5 (tel 416/925
8044, www.toronto.consulatfrance.org)
; 1100-1130 West Pender
St, Vancouver, BC V6E
4A4 (tel 604/681 4345, www.vancouver.consulatfrance.org
).
AUSTRALIA
Consulates ( www.france.net.au
): 492 St Kilda Rd,
Melbourne, VIC 3001 (tel
03/9820 0921); 31 Market
St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (tel
02/9261 5779).
NEW ZEALAND
Embassy :
34-42 Manners St, PO Box
11-343, Wellington (tel
04/384 2555, www.ambafrance.net.nz
).
Customs
With the Single European
Market you can carry
most things between EU
countries, as long as
you have paid tax on
them in an EU country
and you intend them for
personal consumption.
Customs will only start
asking questions if your
car is groaning under
the weight of goods and
they think you are going
to resell them.
Duty-free restrictions
for non-EU residents are
standard in EU countries
at 200 cigarettes, 250g
tobacco or 50 cigars;
one litre of spirits or
two litres of fortified
wine, or two litres of
sparkling wine; two
litres of table wine;
50mg of perfume and
250ml of toilet water.
Americans can
bring home up to
$400-worth of goods
purchased overseas
duty-free, including a
litre of alcohol or
wine, 200 cigarettes and
100 cigars. If you carry
back between $400 and
$1000 worth of stuff
you'll have to go
through the red lane and
pay ten percent of the
value in duty; above
$1000 and the duty
depends on the items.
For the full rundown on
customs niceties,
request a copy of the
pamphlet Know Before You
Go from the US Customs
Service, 1300
Pennsylvania Ave, Room
6.3-D, Washington DC
20229. Their information
line (tel 202/354 1000)
lists other publications
for travellers, though
they must be requested
by mail. All their
pamphlets can be viewed
online at www.customs.gov
.
Canadians are
exempt from paying duty
on up to CAN$750-worth
of goods after spending
seven days out of the
country (or
CAN$100-worth after a
trip lasting two to six
days). Those goods may
include up to 1.5 litres
of spirits or wine, 24
355ml bottles of beer
and 200 cigarettes. For
more details contact the
Canada Customs and
Revenue Agency, Sir
Richard Scott Building,
191 Laurier Ave West,
Ottowa, ON K1A 0L5 (tel
1-506/636 5064, www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca
), and request a copy of
the government's I
Declare brochure.
Travellers returning
to Australia from
abroad can bring in
$400-worth of
"gifts"
duty-free (for under-18s
this is reduced to $200)
- not including personal
purchases such as
clothing which don't
incur duty - plus 250
cigarettes or 250g of
tobacco and one bottle
of alcohol (beer, wine
or spirits). New
Zealand permits
$700-worth of
"gifts", plus
six 750ml bottles of
wine or beer (4.5 litres
in all), 1125ml of
spirits, and 200
cigarettes, or 250g
tobacco, or 50 cigars,
or a mixture of these
not exceeding 250g. In
both countries, certain
goods must be declared
for inspection and may
be prohibited: these
include cordless phones
purchased overseas,
artefacts containing
wood or other plant
material, and
foodstuffs.
|
