Wallis and Futuna Guide

Public Holidays and Festivals

• New Year's Day (January 1)
• Easter Monday (March/April)
• Labor Day (May 1)
• Ascension Day, Pentecost
• Assumption Day (August 15)
• All Saints' Day (November 1)
• Armistice Day (November 11)
• Christmas Day (December 25)

The biggest celebrations of the year center around St. Pierre Chanel Day (April 28) and Bastille Day (July 14). Territory Day (July 29) is also marked by traditional dancing and canoe races. Each of the three Wallis parishes has its own holiday: May 14 at Mu'a, June 29 at Hihifo (Vaitupu), and August 15 at Hahake (Mata-Utu).

The Uvéans are expert sword dancers.

Visas and Officialdom

Entry requirements are the same as those of New Caledonia and French Polynesia. Everyone needs a passport valid six months beyond the departure date. French are admitted freely for an unlimited stay, and citizens of the European Union countries, Australia, Norway, and Switzerland, get three months without a visa.

Citizens of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and 13 other countries are granted a one-month stay free upon arrival. If you need a visa for France, you'll also need one for Wallis and Futuna. If you arrive by yacht, visit the gendarmerie in Mata-Utu. If you're going on to Futuna, return there for a sortie stamp, otherwise you could have trouble when you apply for an entrée stamp on Futuna.