🇸🇴→🇸🇳Somalia→Senegal

Short-stay visit for tourism, family visits, or general purposes for Category B nationals. Issued by an immigration officer upon landing at Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS).

• Available only at Dakar Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS).
• Requires valid passport, return air ticket, proof of accommodation (tourism) or Letter of Intent (business), and yellow fever vaccination card.
• Free of charge.
• Applies to Category B nationals only; Category A nationals are visa-exempt and do not need this.

Formal authorisation for business activities in Senegal for nationals who do not qualify for standard Category A or B entry. Required for certain business visitors from restricted-access countries.

• Downloadable SBA application form available from the Embassy of Senegal in London.
• Must be submitted to the relevant Senegalese embassy or consulate before travel.
• The embassy states all visa applications are free of charge.

Pre-travel visa authorisation required for Category C (restricted) nationals and holders of refugee travel documents (1951 Convention). Approval is granted by Dakar Central Visa Office or Ministry of Interior; the actual visa stamp is issued on arrival at DSS airport.

• Two application routes: (1) Apply via a Senegalese embassy abroad - minimum 4 months processing.
• (2) Have a Senegal-resident contact apply at Dakar Central Visa Office on your behalf - 1 to 2 weeks minimum; requires phone interview with Ministry of Interior.
• Required documents: copy of travel document, letter of invitation with full contact details of inviter, passport photo.
• Upon approval, a short-stay visa is stamped in the passport at DSS airport.
• Applies to Category C nationals and refugee travel document holders.
• Free of charge.

Visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic, service, or official passports from countries with bilateral visa-abolition agreements with Senegal, even where the country's ordinary passport holders fall under Category B or C.

Countries with split treatment (ordinary = Category B or C, diplomatic/service = Category A visa-free) include: Algeria (diplomatic/service), China (diplomatic/service/official), Gabon (diplomatic/service), Iran (diplomatic - 30-day limit), Kenya (diplomatic/service), Libya (diplomatic/service), Pakistan (diplomatic/official/service), South Africa (diplomatic/service), Tanzania (diplomatic/service), Turkey (diplomatic), Uganda (diplomatic/service). Entry is granted directly without a stamp or prior application for diplomatic passport holders.

Mandatory residence/identity card for any foreign national residing in Senegal for more than three months (long-stay residents, employees, students, and family members). Issued by the Foreign Police (DPETV) under the Ministry of the Interior.

• Card is valid 5 years and renewable.
• A foreigner must apply within 3 months of settling in Senegal.
• Required documents: handwritten application to the Minister of the Interior, copy of the first 5 passport pages, criminal-record extract (<3 months), birth certificate (<6 months), medical certificate, 3 photos, a 15,000 FCFA fiscal stamp (timbre fiscal), and a refundable repatriation bond (caution de rapatriement, amount varies by nationality).
• Issuing timeline exceeds 1 year; in the meantime a récépissé de dépôt valid 6 months is issued as a temporary permit.
• Purpose-specific documents are added on top of this common file (employment contract for workers, enrollment certificate for students).
• Processed via DPETV, DGPN, and final ministerial decision.

Residence permit variant for foreign students enrolled at a Senegalese school or university who reside in the country for more than three months.

• Same carte d'identité d'étranger issued by the Ministry of the Interior (DPETV), granted on the basis of study.
• In addition to the common residence-permit file it requires a school/university enrollment certificate (certificat d'inscription) and, for sponsored students, a sponsorship/scholarship confirmation from the student's embassy.
• Same 15,000 FCFA fiscal stamp and repatriation bond apply.
• Card valid 5 years, renewable; a 6-month récépissé is issued while the card is produced.

Mandatory government approval (endorsement) of a foreign/expatriate worker's employment contract before the worker may lawfully start work in Senegal. This is the core work authorisation, obtained by the employer in addition to the foreigner's residence permit.

• Issued by the Direction Générale du Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale (DGTSS, Ministry of Labour).
• Employer-initiated: the employer must submit the contract for approval before it takes effect, and an unapproved contract is null and void.
• An expatriate contract must be a fixed-term contract (CDD).
• The DGTSS approves with a stamp (visa d'approbation) or rejects with justification within 15 days; the approval must be renewed every 2 years.
• Contract filing/processing is dematerialised via the teledac.sec.gouv.sn portal.
• A separate carte d'identité d'étranger (residence permit) is also required to reside in Senegal.