French Southern Territories

Îles Australes only (Crozet, Kerguelen, Saint-Paul and Amsterdam) — not the îles Éparses and not the Antarctic area south of 60°S. The islands form a national nature reserve (decree no. 2006-1211 of 3 October 2006, as amended) inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in July 2019; there is no ordinary tourist access. Mooring of pleasure craft in the territorial sea and access to the islands are very limited and strictly regulated: only in special, motivated circumstances can an exceptional request for mooring in the territorial sea around the archipelagos and for access to these islands by pleasure craft be addressed to the préfet administrateur supérieur des TAAF, using the activity-authorization forms 1–5 (AUST) published on taaf.fr. The 2026 general Form 1 ('FORMULAIRE DE DÉCLARATION OU DE DEMANDE D’AUTORISATION D’ACCES ET DE MISE EN ŒUVRE D’ACTIVITÉS DANS LES TERRES AUSTRALES FRANÇAISES ET LES ÎLES ÉPARSES' — the same official file the Australes and Éparses pages both link as Formulaire 1) asks for the applicant (demandeur) only as 'NOM Prénom, fonctions' plus 'organisme', i.e. a named individual with a function and/or an organization, and nowhere requires the applicant to be the vessel's master or owner, so no such restriction is recorded; it also carries the district checkboxes (Kerguelen, Crozet, Saint-Paul et Amsterdam, îles Éparses), the activity boxes 'Mouillage- stationnement' and 'Accès, débarquement sur les îles', and the number of persons involved. This is one dossier for the vessel/activity, not an entry card filed by each ordinary passenger; foreign nationals on board remain covered by the separate TAAF visa procedure. All movement ashore is subject to district-chief authorization and certain sites additionally require prior written authorization from the prefect; integral protection zones and sites reserved for scientific and technical research are closed (Saint-Paul island and its crater in their entirety, except express prefect authorization; on Amsterdam, landing only at La Cale). A mooring tax and a territorial stay tax are set by arrêté of the préfet administrateur supérieur (arrêté no. 2022-03 of 11 January 2022) and collected by the headquarters services before departure or, failing that, adjusted by the district chief; these are taxes on mooring and stay, not a form-processing fee (amounts not extracted, see unresolved).

Îles Éparses only (Europa, Bassas da India, Juan de Nova, Glorieuses, Tromelin) — not the îles Australes. Mooring in the territorial waters of the îles Éparses and access to the islands are subject to the prior authorization of the préfet administrateur supérieur des TAAF, together with prescriptions framing ecotourism activities (in particular arrêté no. 2014-39 of 25 March 2014); the request uses the activity-authorization forms 1–5 (IEP) published on taaf.fr. The 2026 general Form 1 ('FORMULAIRE DE DÉCLARATION OU DE DEMANDE D’AUTORISATION D’ACCES ET DE MISE EN ŒUVRE D’ACTIVITÉS DANS LES TERRES AUSTRALES FRANÇAISES ET LES ÎLES ÉPARSES') is the same file as the Australes general form and lists the ÎLES ÉPARSES district with the EUROPA, JUAN DE NOVA, BASSAS DA INDIA, TROMELIN and ARCHIPEL DES GLORIEUSES checkboxes; it asks for the applicant (demandeur) only as 'NOM Prénom, fonctions' plus 'organisme' — a named individual with a function and/or an organization — and nowhere requires the applicant to be the vessel's master or owner, so no such restriction is recorded; it covers 'Mouillage- stationnement' and 'Accès, débarquement sur les îles' and the number of persons involved. This is one dossier for the vessel/activity, not an entry card filed by each ordinary passenger; foreign nationals remain covered by the separate TAAF visa procedure. Any movement ashore is forbidden except with prior authorization of the préfet administrateur supérieur, and on Tromelin any disembarkation is impossible. A mooring tax and a territorial stay tax are set by arrêté of the préfet administrateur supérieur and collected by the headquarters services before departure — taxes, not a form-processing fee (amounts not extracted, see unresolved). Fishing is forbidden in the territorial sea around each island.

Foreign nationals entering the Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (here the îles Australes — Crozet, Kerguelen, Saint-Paul, Amsterdam — and the îles Éparses). The TAAF are pays et territoires d'outre-mer situated outside the European Union and outside the Schengen area, so this regime is separate from metropolitan-French/Schengen visa rules. Under article L. 367-1 of the Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (completed by ordonnance no. 2020-1733 of 16 December 2020) and law no. 71-569 of 15 July 1971 (title II), every foreigner entering the TAAF must hold the documents and visas required by the international conventions and regulations in force; the dedicated TAAF visa page asks 'Avez-vous besoin d'un visa ?' and a visa is issued only 'lorsqu'un visa est requis' — the Australes and Éparses access pages' blanket wording that any foreign national must beforehand have obtained a visa under law no. 71-569 cannot be read as proof that every nationality absolutely requires one (exemption list unpublished, see unresolved). Two-step procedure: (1) the accord of the administrateur supérieur des TAAF must be requested at least two months before the date of arrival on the territory (the diplomatic or consular authority may seek a reduction of this delay in urgent situations); the administrateur supérieur sets the duration and conditions of stay, and this accord is binding on the authority issuing the visa; (2) after that accord, the visa application is made at the embassies or consulates of the applicant's country of residence; residents of metropolitan France apply at the préfecture of their département of residence, and non-resident foreigners holding a Schengen visa may apply for an extension of it at the metropolitan préfecture where they are temporarily staying. TAAF publishes dedicated application forms (scientific, Australes, Éparses; French and English versions). The chapter does not apply to diplomatic agents and career consuls.