Visas for Senegal

Visa-free travel in Senegal

All travellers to Senegal will need at least six months validity on their passport from the date of entry. For those travelling from visa-exempt countries for less than three months, all you need is to state your place of stay at the immigration office upon arrival. They will take a biometric scan of your thumbs and eyes and wish you a pleasant trip.

For those travelling from ECOWAS countries, a valid identity card is all that is required to visit Senegal for less than three months.

Obtaining a visa for Senegal

If you hail from a country that requires a biometric visas - containing your finger and eye prints, as well as your identity photo - you can apply for one online or at any of the following foreign consulates: France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux), Spain (Madrid), Belgium (Brussels), United States (Washington, New York), Italy (Rome, Milan), China, Cameroon, India, Germany (Berlin), Mauritania, South Africa, Russia and The Gambia (Banjul). 

To apply for a visa for Senegal, the following documents will be required:

• Photocopies of your passport's first five pages (the passport should be valid for at least six months following your trip to Senegal)
• Proof of return tickets
• Proof of accommodation or hotel booking.

Fees should amount to between €52.5 and €55 and are payable by credit card. In case of visa denial, this sum should be refunded to you.

If you apply in person at the Senegalese Consulate, the documents listed above have to be produced in hard copy, and the fees have to be paid in cash.

If successful, you will be granted a pre-visa, which can be used to board a plane to Senegal. If applying online, your pre-visa will be emailed to you.

Entering Senegal

You will produce your pre-visa upon arrival at immigration, along with the following documents:

• The pre-visa payment's original receipt
• A duly filled and signed visa application form
• A passport-type identity photo
• Your original passport (valid for at least 6 months)
• Photocopies of your passport's first five pages
• Your detailed travel documents along with a return ticket
• Hotel booking or proof of accommodation.

You will then be issued with your visa at the border post, which will entitle you to a single entry into Senegal for 90 days.

 Warning:

Not all Senegalese consulates, embassies and border posts are equipped to produce biometric visas. In general, biometric visas are issued on the spot at all Senegalese airports, ports and most major border posts. If entering Senegal at a minor border post, please check in advance whether they can issue a visa.

 Good to know:

Foreign residents that hold a foreign identity card do not require a visa. They can simply produce their identity card to travel to Senegal. Moreover, dual nationality Senegalese are exempt from the visa requirements provided they produce their Senegalese passport or national identity card.

Multiple entries and exits in Senegal

There are two types of multiple-entry visas in Senegal: the long-stay visa and the short-stay visa, which is valid for a maximum of 90 days. Unless you are arriving at Dakar's airport, where you will automatically obtain a multiple-entry visa, you will have to apply for this visa at the Foreigners and Travel Police Department.

Police Directorate of Foreigners and Travel Documents

Direction de la Police des étrangers et des Titres de voyage (DPETV)

Allées Serigne Ababacar Sy - Dakar

Phone: 33 869 32 10

Long stay visa in Senegal

You must first obtain a short stay visa, which is valid for 90 days, before being able to apply for a long-stay visa, which carries a six months to one year validity period. The application has to be made at the Territorial Surveillance Directorate by producing your pre-visa.

Division de la Surveillance et des Visas

Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST)

Place Washington - BP 4002 - Dakar

Phone: 33 889 36 91 / 33 889 91 00

 Useful links:

Government of Senegal website
Blaise Diagne International Airport