Mali is a country with the most amazing landscapes and four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mali has the historic city of Timbuktu. Unfortunately, most of the famous shrines of Timbuktu and Mohave were damaged by a radical Islamic group in 2012. You can still visit the Great Mosque.
This information piece tells you everything you need to know about visa requirements for visiting Mali.
It is important that you familiarise yourself with these legal requirements of entry before your visit, in particular if you are travelling with minors.
Visa requirements are governed by Mali and are subject to change without prior notice. Rather check the country’s official website or enquire from a reputable travelling agency or tour operator like MoAfrika Tours what the latest updates or changes to the requirements for a visa application may be.
WHAT IS A VISA?
A visa is issued to international travellers visiting Mali for a short stay on a temporary basis for tourism, business, study or medical reasons.
Visas are normally issued for a maximum 30 or 90 days, depending on your country of residence. A valid visa allows you to enter the country through a port of entry and stay in the country for the period specified in your visa.
Note that you are restricted to the activity or reason stated in your application, for example, if you applied for a visa for a holiday or family visit, you are not allowed to work in the country during your stay.
VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR VISITING MALI
To get into Mali, you will need a valid passport with at least one blank page, a visa, and proof of a yellow fever vaccination. Visas are not available upon arrival in Mali. You must get your visa before you travel to avoid excessive fees and unexpected potential travel restrictions imposed at the port-of-entry
A visa is authorised and issued upon application by a representative of a country’s embassy, mission or consulate after it has been determined that you are eligible to enter the country for a specific purpose.
Visitors holding passports from countries that are classified as ‘exempt’ do not need to apply for a visa prior to arriving in Mali. Instead, they are issued with a short-stay visa at the point of entry for a period of time relevant to the status of the visitor’s country.
COUNTRIES EXEMPTED AND COUNTRIES THAT NEED VISAS
People from the following countries and territories can visit Mali without a visa:
Algeria, Andorra, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Liberia, Macau, Mauritania, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates.
Admission and transit are refused to citizens of Syria, even if they are not leaving the aircraft and continuing on the same flight.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VISAS
Visitors to Mali can apply for one of two types of visas, depending on the purpose of their visit – an ordinary tourism visa or a business visa if they are going to conduct business activities in the country.
Tourism Visa – is needed by travellers that intend to spend time in Mali as part of their travelling itinerary or as a specific holiday destination. They will have to prove the length of their intended stay by providing an airline ticket or itinerary round trip travel agency certificate and hotel reservation confirmations.
Business Visa – needed by individuals or representatives of companies with business interests in Mali.
Apart from their original passport, which must be valid for six months from the day the request and the normal requirements for a visa, they will also have to provide a mission statement of their company, stating the reason and the exact dates of the trip to Mali as well as hotel reservation confirmation and an airline ticket for a round trip.
HOW AND WHERE TO APPLY FOR VISAS WHEN VISITING MALI
E-Visa application
Mali does not yet support e-visas so you cannot apply for a pre-approved visa online. You cannot purchase a Visa on arrival at a port of entry for Mali.
How to apply for a Mali Visa at an embassy or consulate
The application process largely depends on which country’s embassy or consulate you use to submit your visa application. However, the following is a guideline:
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR APPLICATION FOR VISA
To get a visa for Mali, the documents you need are:
Tourist Visa
Business Visa
COST OF A MALI VISA
The cost of a visa for most countries is USD 80 for a three-month single entry. For a multiple entry for three months cost USD 110.
For six months multiple entry visa will cost you USD 200. And for a one-year multiple entry visa will cost you USD 370. For USA citizens, the cost is USD 131 regardless of their length of stay.
The visa fees must be paid in a money order which is payable at the Embassy of Mali or a cashier’s cheque. Personal cheques are not accepted.
All visa applications are processed within five working days. Incomplete applications may cause delay in processing. Applicants can pick up their passports at the Embassy or send a prepaid self- addressed envelope (It is highly recommended that applicants send a return envelope with a tracking number to be able to track their envelope.)
VACCINES NEEDED WHEN VISITING MALI
There are some vaccines that are recommended or required for Mali. The CDC and WHO recommend the following vaccinations for traveling to Mali:
hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza.
The CDC recommends the meningitis vaccine for visitors who plan to visit parts of Mali located in the meningitis belt during the dry season (December until June), when the disease is most common.
The symptoms of viral and bacterial meningitis can be similar in the beginning. However, bacterial meningitis symptoms are usually more severe. The symptoms also vary depending on your age.
In adults, viral meningitis may cause the following symptoms, headaches, fever, stiff neck, seizures, sensitivity to light, sleepiness, lethargy, nausea, vomiting and a decrease in appetite.
Bacterial meningitis symptoms develop quickly. They can include altered mental status, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, irritability headache, fever, chills, stiff neck, purple areas of skin that resemble bruises, sleepiness and lethargy.
If you have these symptoms, get immediate medical attention. Bacterial and viral meningitis can be deadly. There is no way to know if you have bacterial or viral meningitis just by judging how you feel. Your doctor will need to perform tests to determine which type you have.
Bacterial meningitis, the most serious form of meningitis, can also be contagious, especially if it’s meningococcal meningitis which occurs in Mali. It is spread through extended contact with an infected person. Schools, day-care centres, military barracks, hospitals, and universities are major locations for sharing this infection. Some types of meningitis are spread through person-to-person contact but not all.
Travellers need to have a yellow fever vaccination before arriving in Mali. Yellow fever is spread by infected mosquitoes. Symptoms are similar to malaria, ranging from flu-like chills and fever to server hepatitis and jaundice. If left untreated or not diagnosed early, the disease is life-threatening.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is often required for a foreign visitor who is travelling from or transiting through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission.
A yellow fever certificate is valid 10 days after the vaccination is administered, making it important to get the vaccination in time before leaving for Mali. You may be refused entry if you leave it too late and arrive in Mali within the 10-day waiting period.
There is a risk of malaria throughout the year in the whole country. Malaria is a serious and occasionally fatal disease that is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. There is no vaccine against malaria.
Insect repellent is your best friend when it comes to avoiding mosquito bites, you can buy insect repellents from the local supermarkets and/or pharmacies and apply to any exposed areas of the skin. Those products, which include DEET, claim to be the most effective, but there are alternatives if you are allergic.
Keep air circulating in your room, mosquitoes aren’t strong flyers (that’s why they are more active during the evening and in the mornings when there is little wind). Using fans is a good way to avoid getting bitten by a mosquito, as it makes it difficult for them to fly near you.
OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS WHEN VISITING MALI
Mali’s customs, laws and regulations closely adhere to Islamic practices. Dress conservatively, behave discreetly and respect Malian religious and social traditions to avoid offending local sensitivities.
During the lunar month of Ramadan use discretion when drinking, eating, and smoking in public between sunrise and sunset. In 2020, Ramadan is expected to begin on April 23.
Mali limits the export of certain Malian archaeological objects, especially those from the Niger River Valley. Under Malian law, visitors wanting to export these items require an export authorization from the National Museum of Mali in Bamako.
Penalties for possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs are severe. Convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines.
The currency is the African Financial Community franc, or CFA franc (XOF). Credit cards are hardly accepted outside a few major hotels. The Central Bank of West African States has a foreign exchange bureau on Koulikoro Road in Bamako, close to the Grand Hôtel. Exchange facilities are often slow and offer rates that are out of date.
VISITING MALI WITH MINORS
If you are travelling to Mali with a minor, please take note of the additional documents you will need per child:
WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE OVERSTAYS ON A VISA IN MALI
Foreign visitors who overstay on a visa are normally declared ‘undesirable persons’ and may incur a ban from Mali for a time period, which prevents them from applying for a visa and re-entering Mali for a prescribed period of time.
You may also be charged a fine for each day that you overstay on your visa. There may even be legal action taken against you, it is highly recommended that you extend your visa well in advance.
Individuals who have been affected by the overstay visa regulations of a country can usually lodge a visa overstay appeal.
ENJOY A SAFE HOLIDAY IN MALI WITH A REPUTABLE TOUR OPERATOR
MoAfrika Tours is a leading tour operator in South Africa that offers an outstanding selection of tours to Mali. We have a close association with the most reputable tour operators in Mali who make safety a priority.
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