Immigration law in Senegal

Senegalese immigration law is based mainly on Loi n°71-10, as amended by Loi n°78-12, Décret n°71-860, as amended by Décret n°2023-463, and the protection framework under Loi n°2022-01 and Décrets n°2025-1559 and 1560. The Ministère de l’Intérieur et de la Sécurité publique, known as MINT, handles the central immigration administration through bodies including the Direction de la Police des Etrangers et des Titres de Voyage (DPETV), the Direction de l’Automatisation des Fichiers (DAF) and the Direction générale de la Police nationale. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Direction générale du Travail et de la Sécurité sociale, the Ministry of Justice and other designated bodies handle matters within their responsibilities. Entry rules differ by nationality and purpose. Senegalese rules distinguish visa-free entry, visas obtained at official border points, prior entry authorisation and non-immigrant stays such as transit, tourism, missions, crew service or temporary artistic, journalistic, research, inspection, prospecting or representation activities. A non-immigrant stay does not authorise paid work. The general legal limit for some stays is four months; visa-free entry normally allows up to three months, while an entry visa may be valid for up to 90 days and may be extended for up to nine months. Visa information is not fully harmonised across official sources, so the responsible Senegalese consulate or MINT should confirm the applicable regime before travel. Some applicants must obtain prior authorisation, provide accommodation and return guarantees, or apply at least two months before travel. A refugee travel document requires a visa, while current 2026 information states that a vaccination certificate is not generally required for travellers from countries without an epidemic or endemic risk. People intending to live or work in Senegal on a lasting basis generally use an autorisation d’établissement, which functions as the country’s main long-term residence permission. It can cover a spouse, ascendants and dependent minor or unmarried descendants living in the same household. Senegal has no separately evidenced immigration category for investors, retirees, self-employed people or digital nomads in the reviewed primary sources. A foreign worker needs the relevant establishment authorisation for permanent employment. The employment contract is submitted by the employer, and the Direction générale du Travail et de la Sécurité sociale reviews the contract and working conditions. A written contract follows a medical examination and requires the labour authority’s visa; if no decision is issued within 15 days, the visa is treated as granted under the applicable rule. Study normally uses an autorisation de séjour or autorisation d’établissement rather than a separate student residence title. The file includes current school or university enrolment and proof of financial support or a scholarship. Residence permissions are individual and can include children under 15 on application. They can be conditional, renewable and revocable. A change of address or activity may require administrative notification or approval. Permission can end through expiry, expulsion, definitive departure or more than one year abroad without authorisation. The Carte d’identité d’étranger, or CIE, is the foreign national identity card. Applications are filed with the Division de la Police des Etrangers and typically require a handwritten application, passport pages, a recent birth certificate, a recent criminal-record certificate from the country of origin, a recent medical certificate, three photographs, a work contract or study documents, proof of support or a scholarship, a 15,000 FCFA tax stamp and a repatriation deposit receipt. The deposit depends on nationality. Annual tax and visa charges may also apply, and a single current total is not clearly published. Establishment files can require a personalised passport, entry stamp, photographs, a birth certificate issued within three months, a criminal-record certificate issued within three months, a medical certificate issued within two months by an approved doctor in Senegal, proof of means and, where necessary, certified French translations with diplomatic or consular authentication. Official sources differ on some document validity periods. Protection claims are handled by the Commission nationale de gestion des réfugiés et apatrides, known as CNGRA, through its permanent secretariat or a regional committee. An application should normally be made within three months of entry, unless justified circumstances explain the delay. The procedure is free. Applicants receive a six-month receipt that can be extended until the procedure ends, an interview normally takes place within 15 days, and eligibility review takes 60 days with a possible 30-day extension. Applicants may use an interpreter and legal assistance, and unaccompanied minors receive a guardian. The protection framework includes non-refoulement, access to justice and basic services, confidentiality and family reunification. An unfavourable opinion can be challenged before the Comité de recours within 45 days; a decision of that committee can be challenged before the Cour suprême. Recognised refugees and stateless people receive an establishment authorisation, a biometric card and a travel document, each generally valid for five years. Senegal does not have a separately evidenced permanent residence title. The autorisation d’établissement provides the closest functional equivalent but remains conditional and revocable. Naturalisation is a separate transition to nationality. The ordinary residence requirement is generally ten years, while the law provides five-year exceptions in cases such as marriage to a Senegalese national or exceptional services; current official information does not present these rules consistently. Naturalisation applications go to the Ministry of Justice and require documents such as a birth certificate, criminal-record certificate, residence certificate from the Préfet, medical certificate, good-conduct evidence and tax or non-taxation records. The application is free until a decision, after which a 100,000 FCFA chancery fee applies. No decision within one year can constitute implicit rejection under the law, and the law states that a naturalisation refusal has no appeal. An establishment authorisation can be withdrawn for breaches of its conditions, false statements or concealment, or failure to make a required administrative notification. The MINT can issue an expulsion order for reasons including a criminal conviction, serious interference in internal affairs or lack of means of support. A person may challenge administrative acts before the Cour suprême, and the legal framework gives a challenge against expulsion suspensive effect in the circumstances recognised by law or case law. The reviewed sources do not establish a special immigration appeal for every visa or residence refusal, so the applicable administrative remedy must be checked for the specific decision. Senegal also has no evidenced general language, values, integration-course or integration-test requirement in the main immigration rules and official procedures.