Why did French Guiana require visas from Brazilians? Understand the rules and what changes with the end of the requirement in Amapá

Brazil and France sign an agreement that ends the visa requirement for Brazilians in Guyana
Brazilians do not need a visa to travel to France, but, until now, the document was mandatory to enter French Guiana. Although it is a French overseas department, the territory located in South America adopts its own immigration rules to control entry into the border region.
On Wednesday (1st), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, and the French Chancellor, Jean-Noël Barrot, signed an agreement that ends the visa requirement for Brazilians in French Guiana. The measure comes into effect in August and benefits those traveling to the territory that borders Amapá.
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In this report, g1 explains why French Guiana maintained the visa requirement for Brazilians, even with different rules from France.
Immigration
International relations analyst Fabrício Penafort recalls that, in the 1960s and 1970s, France encouraged the entry of Brazilians to work on projects in the country, such as the Kourou Space Base.
In the 1990s, after the closure of large mining sites in Brazil, the migration of Brazilians to illegal mining in French Guiana increased. The work was driven by the appreciation of the local currency, the euro.
"Today, around a third of the population of French Guiana is made up of Brazilians. Many of them were associated with illegal mining and other informal activities, which contributed to a negative image of the Brazilian community in the region", says the internationalist.
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Schengen Area
French Guiana is a French territory, but is not part of the Schengen Area. Therefore, it maintains its own immigration rules.
What is it? The Schengen Area brings together 29 European countries that have abolished the use of passports at borders. In practice, it functions as a single territory, without customs barriers.
Brazil has a diplomatic agreement with the bloc. As a result, Brazilians can travel to these countries only with a passport, without a visa, for stays of up to 90 days for tourism or business.
Despite being part of France, French Guiana was left out of the agreement, restricted only to the territory of the European continent. The territory maintained its own visa rules, different from the facilities offered to Brazilians traveling to Europe.
Internal policy
Penafort explains that the visa requirement was also related to geopolitical and security factors. According to him, France sought to maintain greater control over the border and preserve the sovereignty of the territory in the face of the growth of the Brazilian population in the region.
"In general, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed a greater rapprochement with Brazil, while the Ministry of the Interior adopted a more conservative position, prioritizing issues linked to security and migration control", he points out.
Economy
The Secretary of Tourism of Amapá, Syntia Lamarão, assesses that the end of the visa requirement is positive for trade, the tourism and cultural relations.
"Strengthening this integration should increase cooperation between the two sides of the border and boost regional development. This could also accelerate investments in infrastructure and in the city's economy, which was already growing", he states.
End of the requirement
The agreement was made official on Wednesday (1st) and ends the visa requirement for Brazilians to enter the French territory that borders Amapá. The initial announcement was made in May 2025, in Paris, by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The exemption request was made based on the principle of reciprocity, as French tourists enter Brazil without a visa. Until now, Brazilians had to go to the French embassy in Brasília to obtain the document. With this measure, simply presenting a valid passport is enough.
The border between Amapá and French Guiana has around 32 thousand residents. In Oiapoque, in the extreme north of the state, 26.6 thousand people live.
On the French side, in Saint Georges, around 3 thousand people live. The two cities are separated by the Oiapoque River and connected by the Binational Bridge, built in partnership between Brazil and France.
Binational Bridge over the Oiapoque River, in Amapá
Disclosure/Préfecture de la Guyane
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Source: G1