Mayotte’s Territorialised Visa: What It Is and Why France Wants to Scrap It

The French government is considering removing Mayotte’s specific territorialised visa, an island in the Indian Ocean, to ease travel restrictions to mainland France and reduce Mayotte’s appeal to irregular migrants from the nearby Comoros.

What is Mayotte’s territorialised visa?

Mayotte’s territorialised visa is a unique provision that applies to the island—where roughly 48% of residents are immigrants. In place for about 30 years, under article 832 of France’s Code of Entry for Foreigners and Asylum Law, it states that residence permits issued in Mayotte are valid only on the island itself.

This arrangement strengthens migration control and helps regulate the entry of foreigners to the island. The only exceptions are when a permit is issued to an asylum seeker or when the holder is summoned to metropolitan France by the French Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons for an interview.

Under this visa, holders cannot travel to another French department—including metropolitan France—without first obtaining a valid temporary residence card or a ten-year residence permit.

Why scrap the visa now?

By scrapping Mayotte’s territorialised visa, the French government aims to let immigrants on Mayotte with regular residence permits travel freely anywhere in France, including metropolitan areas.

• Reduce Mayotte’s appeal: Ending birthright citizenship and family reunification is expected to curb Mayotte’s draw for irregular migrants from the neighboring Comoros—with nearly 48% of residents reportedly born abroad, per INSEE data and estimates from the Regional Audit Chamber. Officials hope this reduces the number of new residence permits issued.

• Ease travel to mainland France: Currently, holders face administrative hurdles when traveling to the mainland. Removing the visa would simplify their movements across France.