Updated – see the end of this post My wife has Bora Bora at the top of her list of ‘dream destinations’. I have been trying to figure out if we need a visa, and how to get the visa. Turns out the French embassies issue a ‘Dom Tom’ visa applicable to some of its overseas territories.
The ‘Dom Tom’ visa is applicable to the following overseas regions of France: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion Island, Guyana, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, St. Pierre and Miquelon or Mayotte. The application for this should be made at your nearest French embassy.
The more travel-savvy reader would know that Bora Bora is part of French Polynesia, along with Tahiti and a bunch of other islands and atolls.
If you hold a Schengen visa, you can not use it for French Polynesia (or any other Dom Tom territories). Similarly, a Dom Tom visa will not get you into main land France or the Schengen zone.
See this link for more details: http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Different-types-of-visa.html
We received the following information from the TLS contact centre in London, where the France Visa applications are made
The French Polynesia visa process is exactly the same as a Schengan visa, except that in the registration one has to mention ‘French Overseas territory’ as the destination. The visa appointment can be made online: www.tlscontact.com/gb2fr Indian passport holders have to apply in person.The list of required documents will be revealed when the application is filled in online (I will share this in a couple of days). Here is much more information on the Dom-Tom visas: https://www.tlscontact.com/gb2fr/help.php?id=def_DOM_TOM_CTOM Update Just applied and got this visa. It is as explained above. Process is identical to Schengen, but the cost is lower (around £7.5 + TLS contact centre fees). In London, the French embassy has outsourced visa applications to TLS. Hence one needs to apply through them. Validity of visa starts on my intended date of arrival in Tahiti and ends about 2 weeks after my intended date of departure.
Need inspiration to put yourself through the process? See these pics I took.
Visas and Travel on an Indian Passport 