Overview
The Embassy of the Republic of Namibia in Paris occupies a townhouse at 42 rue Boileau in the 16th arrondissement, between Auteuil and the Bois de Boulogne, and is the only resident Namibian diplomatic mission in southern Europe. It is accredited bilaterally to France and concurrently to Italy, Portugal and Spain, with multilateral accreditation to UNESCO (Paris) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome). French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese passport holders are all on Namibia's Visa on Arrival list, so the embassy supports a substantial volume of tourist traffic — France is one of Namibia's top European source markets — but the standard route is the Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs e-Services portal rather than the counter. The Paris embassy also handles the bilateral Namibia–France economic relationship, which has deepened around TotalEnergies' Venus deepwater discovery in the Orange Basin and the Hyphen green-hydrogen project's emergence as a European supplier.
Visa Services
French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and other listed-nationality passport holders travelling to Namibia for tourism apply for a Visa on Arrival, either online before travel through the Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs e-Services portal (recommended, electronic payment, approval letter to print and present at the port of entry) or in person at the embassy counter on rue Boileau. The fee is N$1,600 for travellers aged twelve and above, with reductions for children. The Paris embassy also handles paper applications for Italian, Portuguese and Spanish nationals who prefer not to use the online portal — there is no separate Namibian mission in Rome, Madrid or Lisbon, so Paris serves the four-country jurisdiction. Work, study, research, MICE and long-stay applications are processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs online portal regardless of nationality. Diplomatic and Official Passport visas are processed in-house by appointment.
Consular Services
The Consular Section assists Namibian citizens resident in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain with passport applications and renewals, emergency travel documents, duplicate identity documents, birth and marriage registration, citizenship-by-descent registration and apostille on Namibian-issued documents. The embassy also supports Namibian students at French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish universities, the Namibian diaspora in the Paris and Lisbon areas, and Namibian nationals in distress within the jurisdiction.
Trade & Export Support
Trade and investment work in the Paris embassy supports two flows that have grown sharply over the past three years. French companies — TotalEnergies leading on the Orange Basin offshore deepwater developments following the Venus and Graff discoveries, Air Liquide on green hydrogen and ammonia value chains, Engie, EDF and Suez on renewable-energy infrastructure, Bolloré and CMA CGM on Walvis Bay port logistics, Sanofi and Servier on pharmaceutical distribution, Decathlon and Carrefour on retail — engage with the embassy's Economic Section. Italian, Spanish and Portuguese companies in tuna fishing, marine processing, renewables and construction also work through Paris. Namibian exporters seeking buyers in the four-country jurisdiction for uranium, copper, beef, table grapes and processed marine products use the embassy as a first introduction. The mission liaises with the French Treasury Africa desk, Business France, Investir en France, the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and Namibia's Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade.
Investment Opportunities
Investment priorities the embassy promotes: oil and gas (Orange Basin offshore — TotalEnergies, Shell, QatarEnergy and Galp consortium activity), green hydrogen and ammonia (the Hyphen project at Lüderitz is the country's flagship and a Global Gateway partnership with the European Union), critical-minerals beneficiation, renewable energy, tourism infrastructure (French luxury operators in safari) and Italian and Spanish solar-PV and wind manufacturing capacity. The embassy routes French public-finance enquiries to Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Proparco, and connects investors with NIPDB and the Bank of Namibia.
Business Support
Practical support includes market briefings for French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese companies entering Namibia, introductions to NIPDB and the Bank of Namibia, guidance on the regulatory environment (NEEEF, work permits, profit repatriation), and coordination on the EU-Namibia strategic partnership on raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen, including the EU Global Gateway envelope.
Cultural & Educational Programs
Cultural and education work is anchored by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie partnerships with Namibian institutions, French government scholarships (Eiffel Excellence) open to Namibian postgraduates, the Alliance Française network's Namibian programming, and Italian and Spanish university partnerships in maritime sciences and viticulture. The embassy marks Namibian Independence Day (21 March) and Heroes' Day (26 August) with the four-country diaspora and engages with the Académie diplomatique internationale and the African Studies programmes at Sciences Po and INALCO. UNESCO multilateral work covers cultural-heritage cooperation, particularly around San rock art and the World Heritage status of the Twyfelfontein archaeological site.
Service Area
Consular and diplomatic jurisdiction: the French Republic (host), the Italian Republic, the Portuguese Republic and the Kingdom of Spain. Multilateral accreditation: UNESCO (Paris-based), the OECD Development Centre, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome-based). Honorary Consulates of Namibia extend the embassy's reach within France (Marseille, Lyon), Italy (Rome, Milan), Spain (Madrid, Barcelona) and Portugal (Lisbon, Porto) where they exist; Paris remains the only resident mission across the four states of accreditation.
Appointment Information
Visa and consular counter service is offered Monday to Friday within the 09:00–13:00 and 14:00–17:00 windows on a walk-in basis; documentary services with multiple originals are handled more efficiently with a prior email exchange to confirm what is needed. Diplomatic and official-passport visas, and any complex consular matter, are by appointment via namparis@embassyofnamibia.fr. Online Visa on Arrival applicants should not travel to Paris — the application is filed entirely through the Ministry's e-Services portal.
Special Notes
Rue Boileau is in the southern half of the 16th arrondissement, near the Auteuil neighbourhood, two minutes' walk from Exelmans station on Métro line 9 and within walking distance of the Bois de Boulogne and the Roland-Garros tennis grounds. Street parking is metered and limited; the nearest public car parks are at Porte d'Auteuil. Bring originals and copies of every supporting document — originals are returned at the counter. Direct flights between Paris and Windhoek do not exist; the standard routings from Paris-Charles de Gaulle are via Frankfurt with Discover Airlines or Lufthansa, via Doha with Qatar Airways or via Johannesburg with Air France and Airlink. Italian, Spanish and Portuguese travellers connect at the same hubs.