Outgoing French Ambassador to Bahrain Christian Testot has apologised to Bahraini tourists who have been frustrated in their efforts to get a visa to France.

The envoy said that the embassy was doing everything in its power to make the process easier and less stressful, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"Our aim is to attract as many Bahraini tourists to France as possible and this is one of the priorities of the French government," said Testot.

"We are doing everything that we can to accommodate visa applicants and already, we issue three times more visas than we used to. We are sorry that sometimes the applicants have to wait a long time because of the rush, but we are doing all we can to make it easy for people to visit France.

"When applying for the first time, a visa is issued for a period up to one year - but after that a renewal facility is available to extend the visa up to five years. You can apply up to three months in advance for a visa, so we urge people to plan ahead and avoid the rush," he added.

 Testot will leave Bahrain on Saturday and his next posting is expected to be in Paris. His successor, another diplomat currently serving in the region who has yet to be named, will assume office in the coming weeks. – TradeArabia News Service