Prime Minister Hon James Marape has revealed that Papua New Guinea has requested a Schengen Visa arrangement from France for Papua New Guineans traveling to France.

Prime Minister Marape said the request was put to French President H.E Emmanual Macron today (10.06.25) during the bilateral meeting the two leaders held on the margins of the 3rd UN Oceans Conference.

“We have requested through our bilateral talks to have a Schengen visa arrangement for Papua New Guineans traveling to France,” he said.

Mr Marape said what this means is that instead of traveling to Singapore or other countries to request for the visa, visiting Papua New Guineans can simply obtain it online.

“We would like to have visa-on-arrival for Papua New Guineans traveling to France.”

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows non-European Union nationals to travel and stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. The Schengen area comprises 29 European countries without internal border controls, allowing for easy movement within the area with a single visa.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Marape said he has also requested the French Government through President Macron to allocate an office space in Paris for the PNG Embassy.

“We will soon be allocating an ambassador to Paris. We will reciprocate as they have an ambassador in Papua New Guinea. So, we apologize for not having an ambassador in Paris,” he said.