tour du poteau

French

Etymology

Literally, “circling of the flag pole”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuʁ dy pɔ.to/

Noun

tour du poteau m (plural tours du poteau)

1. the act of crossing an international border, generally for a very short period of time, in order to renew a visa or other government-issued permit before crossing back

   Je dois faire le tour du poteau d’ici mai afin de renouveler mon permis de travail.

   I need to cross the border between now and May in order to renew my work permit.