CDG · Before you leave the transit area · checked 29 October 2026
Entering France from a CDG layover
Leaving the CDG transit area is entering the Schengen area. For European citizens that is ordinary. For everyone else it is a border, even if the next flight is tomorrow.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
You are not the audience for a visa paragraph. You still need a passport or national ID card that will satisfy the airline, and you still need the RER plan. Ireland is in the EU and not in Schengen; Irish citizens still enter France as EU citizens.
Visa-exempt non-EU travellers
Short stays are generally up to 90 days in any 180. Since 10 April 2026 the Entry/Exit System is fully operational at external borders. Expect your document and biometrics to be recorded instead of a passport stamp.
ETIAS is not in operation. The European Union says it will announce the start months in advance, and applications are not being collected. Do not pay a website that claims otherwise. The official page is travel-europe.europa.eu.
Travellers who need a visa
A Schengen visa has to be in the passport before you fly. A layover does not create an exception, and CDG is not the place to apply.
France-Visas is the official portal for applications that should have happened earlier.
Airside is not a failure
If the visa is wrong, stay in transit. Paris is a terrible place to discover a border problem with a boarding pass for the onward long-haul already issued.
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