A visa is an official document granted by a country’s government to foreigners to allow them enter, stay and/or transit through their territory for a specific purpose and duration.

A foreign national travelling to Senegal may be issued with an appropriate visa including BUSINESS or TOURIST visa depending on purpose of their travel.

Unless the assignee is a national of a visa exempt country, an entry visa would be required for entry to Senegal. Applicants may be eligible to obtain a pre-approved visa-on-arrival from Senegal to allow them entry into the country. The nationality of the applicant is crucial in determining whether a visa may be required prior to entry.

Countries are put into 3 categories for the purposes of visas into Senegal (the list is subject to change)

Category A is mainly ECOWAS citizens and neighboring countries that are visa exempt of the first three months of their stay in Senegal: Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo. A person within this category seeking to extend their stay beyond the initial 90 days granted must procure a Consular Card from their respective Embassy in Senegal.

Other countries who are in category A and visa exempt are Canada, Central African Republic, Congo, United Kingdom, India, Morocco, South Korea, Switzerland, Tunisia, United States of America, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus-Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

A person within this category seeking to extend their stay beyond the initial 90 days granted must leave Senegal and re-enter to activate another period of 90 days for tourist or business purposes as they cannot extend their stay.  For work purposes, they would need to secure a work and residence permit. 

CATEGORY B 

Category B nationals have three visa options to enter Senegal: they can apply at the Senegalese Embassy in their home country (duration set by the officer), apply in-country through the Ministry of Interior for a preapproved visa for a duration of 1 – 3 months at the discretion of the officer, or obtain a visa on arrival at the port of entry, usually for 30 days.

List of countries which are in Category B:

South Africa, Algeria, Germany, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei,Bulgaria, Burundi ,Cameroon, Canada, Comoros, Costa Rica,Croatia, Denmark ,El Salvador, Egypt, Spain, Estonia, Eswatini (Swaziland), United States of America, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Marshall Islands, India, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, Republic Democratic Congo, Republic Dominican, Romania, People’s Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan),Russia, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Suriname, TChad, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic), Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Vatican, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Category C are not eligible for entry visas. This category are foreign nationals who require a valid pre-approved visa issued by the Ministry of Interior in Senegal in order to enter Senegal. 

List of countries which are in category C:

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Cyprus, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Eritrea, Georgia, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, Nicaragua, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Republic of North Macedonia, Kyrgyz Republic, Democratic Republic of Korea  (North Korea), Republic Democratic Lao Folk (Laos), Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste), Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen. 

A foreign national traveling on Business Visa can undertake activities such as training programs, conferences, business meetings and other hands-on activities between 60 to 90 days.

Yes, a Business Visa may be extended on application to the Ministry of Interior. Request for extensions must be made three weeks prior to expiration

As at now, there is one main category of work permit available in Senegal which is the long-term work permit. The validity is two years at most, renewable upon agreement.

The institutions responsible for issuing work permits are the ministry of labor and the department of demographics at the labor inspection bureau

The Ministry of Interior and / police des etrangers et des titres de voyage are responsible for the issuance of residence permits.

Defaulting companies are sanctioned by the authorities. The nature of the sanction is at the discretion of the institution responsible.

An immigration annual return is a prescribed form detailing foreign nationals employed must be submitted to the Department of Labour between January and no later than 15th March of each year.