Senegal
Senegal · Africa · updated 06.08.2026
Senegal is a French-speaking country in West Africa with the CFA franc (XOF) as its currency, whose fixed peg to the euro is guaranteed by the Franc Zone (BCEAO). For citizens of ECOWAS/CEDEAO member states, a free-movement regime applies: visa-free entry and the right to reside and work without a separate work permit - based on the Community's 1979, 1986 and 1990 protocols. For other foreigners staying more than 3 months, a carte de résident is required, issued through the Direction de la Police des étrangers et des titres de voyage under the Ministry of the Interior. Since 2024 the country has become an oil-and-gas producer: industrial production began at the offshore Sangomar field, and gas exports launched from the Grande Tortue Ahmeyim field shared with Mauritania. Malaria is present throughout the country. Some visa, family and employment procedures could not be confirmed against primary sources - the official websites of several relevant agencies did not respond to requests or did not contain the necessary sections at the time of research.
Some descriptions for this country are still Russian only: 98% translated. Numbers, prices and timelines are complete.
Entry
Entry rules depend on citizenship. Choose a passport to see the requirement for that one.
Work and visas
Visa types: Carte de résident CEDEAO (ECOWAS residence permit) - for citizens of member states of the Economic Community of West African States. The ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons A/P.1/5/79 gives Community citizens the right to visa-free entry for up to 90 days (Article 3). The supplementary protocol A/SP.1/7/86 (second phase - right of residence) gives the right to seek and take paid employment and obliges the host state to issue an ECOWAS Residence Card/Residence Permit through the immigration department (Articles 2, 5, 6). The supplementary protocol A/SP.2/5/90 (third phase - right of establishment) adds access to self-employment and business establishment on the same terms as citizens of the host country (Article 2). Source: ecowas.int, publication of the protocols, checked 03.08.2026 · Carte d’identité d’étranger (the foreigner's identity card) — that is what the document is called in the catalogue of services of the Senegalese interior ministry itself, not «carte de résident». It is issued by the Directorate of the Police for Foreigners and Travel Documents, and first applications are decided by the minister of the interior. · A foreigner's stay in Senegal rests on the foreigner's identity card: it is issued by the interior ministry through the Directorate of the Police for Foreigners and Travel Documents, and first applications are decided by the minister himself. · The agency publishes no separate visa category for each purpose: the purpose is distinguished by the set of documents within a single service — an employment contract for those working, a certificate of enrolment and proof of support for those studying. · The repatriation deposit is a compulsory part of the filing, and its size depends on the country of origin. The agency prints no amounts. · The circulation card is a second document, not a replacement for the first: it is issued to foreigners already established here whose work requires frequent travel abroad, it is valid for five years, and it is compulsory for company directors and for the staff of firms granted a general exemption from the repatriation deposit. · Filing is done in Dakar at the Directorate of the Police for Foreigners and Travel Documents, and in the regions at the mobile security brigades. · The agency sets no issuing time for the circulation card: on its own page it calls it undetermined.
The catalogue of services of the Senegalese interior ministry runs to twenty-four items, and only two of them concern foreigners directly — the foreigner's identity card and the circulation card; those two are recorded here. The agency publishes no visa categories by purpose of entry at all: the purpose is distinguished by the set of documents within a single service. Nor is there a separate service for a work permit — the employment contract simply sits in the list of documents for the identity card; on the site of the Directorate General of Labour and Social Security the only services published are the annual social report and the annual manpower declaration, and no text in force on endorsing a contract with a foreigner is there. Neither of the two grounds has a decision time: for the identity card none is named, and for the circulation card the agency writes outright «not determined» — so both carry `processingUnpublished`. The validity of the identity card is not on the service page either, and its `durationMonths` is empty; the circulation card's is named — five years. The monetary figures are confirmed: a fiscal stamp of fifteen thousand CFA francs for the identity card and the tax under articles 768 and 769 of the general tax code for the circulation card. The repatriation deposit is nowhere given as a sum — it depends on the country of origin. An earlier entry of 06.08.2026 asserted that interieur.gouv.sn has no section on foreigners at all; that is WRONG and was withdrawn on 28.08.2026 — the section exists, it is called «Services for users» and lives at /services/services-aux-usagers. The earlier attempt looked for it in the «ministry documentation» and among the directorates general; the site has since been rewritten in Nuxt, and the list of services lives in a markup data island rather than in the menu links. The other half of the earlier entry still holds: apix.sn still does not resolve, and the labour agency still has no separate page on the work permit.
Long-term visas and residence permits
Foreigner's identity card of Senegal
OtherCirculation card for foreigners established in Senegal
OtherProgramme terms change, and the final decision rests with the consulate or the country migration service. The data is collected from official sources on the date shown and is not legal advice.
Residence and citizenship
- Citizenship after
- 10 years
- Dual citizenship
- not allowed
Dual citizenship: According to the wording on citizenshiprightsafrica.org (a review citing Loi 61-10/1961, as amended by Loi 2013-05/2013): the law's provisions formally do not allow dual citizenship, but in practice Senegalese authorities permit it for ordinary citizens. The Constitution expressly prohibits dual citizenship only for the President of the Republic; in 2016 proposals were discussed (adoption not confirmed) to require presidential candidates to renounce any other citizenship 5 years before the election. The exact legal mechanism (loss of citizenship by operation of law versus a lack of enforcement in practice) has not been verified against a primary source - see citizenshipNote.
Naturalisation. According to the official description of the procedure, citizenship by decree may be obtained by a foreigner aged 18 or over who has lived in Senegal for 10 years; the period is cut to 5 years for someone married to a Senegalese woman and to 5 years by way of exception (par dérogation). The application goes to the minister of justice, accompanied by a birth certificate, a criminal-record extract (bulletin No. 3), a certificate of residence from the prefect, medical certificates, a certificate of good character and a tax statement; where the applicant has a spouse and children, their documents are mandatory. Filing itself is free, but on a favourable decision chancery fees of 100,000 CFA francs are payable. The decision takes a year from the date of the receipt confirming the file was accepted. Marriage. The new wording of article 7 of the Nationality Code has equalised the spouses: a foreign man who marries a Senegalese woman and a foreign woman who marries a Senegalese man acquire citizenship on application after five years of life together from the celebration or establishment of the marriage, provided the marriage has not been dissolved and the spouse has not lost Senegalese citizenship. The procedure has two steps: a certificate of non-renunciation of Senegalese citizenship from the minister of justice, then a certificate of nationality from the departmental court of the place of residence (2,000 CFA francs, issued in 2 days). Source — the Senegalese government portal of administrative procedures servicepublic.gouv.sn, sections «Demander à acquérir la nationalité sénégalaise par décret (naturalisation)» and «Demander la nationalité sénégalaise par voie de mariage». The portal itself does not answer on port 80 or 443 from the checking machine (checked 04.08.2026), so the pages were read in the Wayback Machine snapshot of 16.02.2020 (web.archive.org/web/20200216203137/http://www.servicepublic.gouv.sn/index.php/demarche_administrative/demarche/1/338/4/16 and .../339/4/16). The primary source is the Code de la nationalité sénégalaise (Loi n° 61-10 du 7 mars 1961, as amended by Loi n° 2013-05 du 8 juillet 2013): both copies of the text found (scans on servicepublic.gouv.sn via the Wayback Machine and on citizenshiprightsafrica.org) have no text layer, and jo.gouv.sn (the official gazette) does not answer requests. The number of years to permanent status for a foreigner (as distinct from citizenship) is not published in any available source, so prYears is left empty.
Documents
- Document certification
- apostille
The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.
Family
Partner
No separate accelerated route for spouses of Senegalese citizens is described in the sources found: a foreign spouse, like any other foreigner staying beyond 3 months, obtains the general carte de résident through the prefecture and the Direction de la Police des étrangers et des titres de voyage (France Diplomatie, updated 1 July 2026). The processing time for such a permit is not officially published, so the timeline is left empty. The national public-services portal was walked in full on 8 August 2026, and that is a finding in itself: every card there carries a field "Quel est le délai de la délivrance ?", meaning the authority does publish the turnaround in its own format and sometimes writes "Non déterminé" outright — as it does on the carte de circulation card. But there is NO CARD AT ALL for the carte d'identité d'étranger or the carte de résident. Both relevant subsections were enumerated: "Entrée, séjour et travail des étrangers" (11 procedures: refugee passport, naturalisation, citizenship through marriage, an extract of bulletin no. 3 for foreigners, registration of French nationals in Senegal, authorisation to form a foreign association, the repatriation bond and its return, and the carte de circulation) and "Nationalité et identité" (17 procedures, not one of them about a foreigner's document). The adjacent "Justificatifs de domicile" and "Autres" sections were checked too. The portal itself does not answer from the working machine on port 80 or 443 and is read through the Wayback archive. The conclusion: the turnaround is not so much "not found" as never described — the authority simply does not cover this procedure on the portal where it covers the others. That does not warrant the "timeline unpublished" flag: the portal is not about residence permits, and so it is not a source for the absence of a turnaround in one. Also checked and ruled out — and not for being unreachable: the sec.gouv.sn domain answers and redirects to primature.sn, which answers too but holds only 2024 acts and the codes, law 71-10 on the residence of foreigners not among them. The jo.gouv.sn archive reads fine but covers only 2001–2011. The police sites (police.sn, dgpn.sn, dirpetv.sn), on the other hand, genuinely do not resolve. What is published is the route to citizenship through marriage: under the new wording of Article 7 of the Nationality Code, a foreigner of either sex acquires Senegalese citizenship on application after five years of life together counted from the date of the marriage, provided the marriage has not been dissolved and the spouse has not lost their citizenship; the certificate of nationality is issued by the departmental court for 2,000 CFA francs within two days. The source is Senegal's state portal of administrative procedures, servicepublic.gouv.sn, sections "Demander à acquérir la nationalité sénégalaise par décret (naturalisation)" and "Demander la nationalité sénégalaise par voie de mariage". The portal itself does not answer from the checking machine on port 80 or 443 (checked 4 August 2026), so the pages were read in the Wayback Machine snapshot of 16 February 2020 (web.archive.org/web/20200216203137/http://www.servicepublic.gouv.sn/index.php/demarche_administrative/demarche/1/338/4/16 and .../339/4/16).
Parents
Partner's parents
Pets
- Limit
- no limit
- Quarantine
- no
- Antibody titre test
- not needed
- Preparation
- ~1 months
The agency - the Direction des Services Vétérinaires under the Ministère de l'Agriculture, de la Souveraineté alimentaire et de l'Élevage (MASAE): its own domain elevage.gouv.sn does not resolve, elevage.sn is an unrelated domain for sale, and the MASAE page (agriculture.gouv.sn) contains no section on the DSV/veterinary matters. Requirements were reconstructed from the British side's official veterinary export certificate (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs / APHA, form 6367EHC, "Export of Dogs and Cats from Great Britain to Senegal", current on gov.uk as of 03.08.2026, text checked against the 2004 edition) - it reflects requirements set by the Senegalese side: veterinary examination no more than 48 hours before departure, rabies vaccination with an inactivated vaccine at least 30 days before departure (vaccination certificate EXA25 attached), identification of the animal by tattoo/microchip or a detailed description. Neither antibody titre testing nor quarantine on arrival is mentioned in this document. A direct official Senegalese source (elevage.gouv.sn) could not be found - see also the warning in AGENTS.md about agencies' domains being occupied by unrelated content.
Safety
Climate
Quality of life
Cities
Dakar
tech hubThe capital and largest city of Senegal on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the country's and West Africa's main port and business centre. The population of the department (the city proper, excluding the suburban departments of Pikine, Guédiawaye and Rufisque) is 1,278,469 according to the RGPH-5 2023 census (ANSD).
A coastal city: the country's INFORM flood risk indicator is 6.3/10, coastal-zone risk 5.5/10, minimal earthquake risk (0.1/10). Dense development of the peninsula creates localised flooding during the rainy season (July-October).
Thies
The country's third-largest city, 70 km from Dakar, a railway and industrial hub. The population of the three urban communes (Thiès Est, Thiès Nord, Thiès Ouest, which make up the city proper) is 391,253 according to the RGPH-5 2023 census (ANSD).
An inland city on a plateau, outside the zone of coastal risks; the country's INFORM drought risk indicator is 6.1/10.
Touba
Senegal's second most populous city, the religious centre of the Mouride Sufi brotherhood, grown up around the Great Mosque of Touba. The population of the commune of Touba Mosquée is 1,120,824 according to the RGPH-5 2023 census (ANSD); livingcost.org has no page for the city, so rent and utilities are not filled in.
An inland city on the border of the Sahel region; the country's INFORM drought risk indicator is 6.1/10, with seasonal harmattan dust.
Saint-Louis
The former colonial capital of French West Africa, a UNESCO World Heritage site at the mouth of the Senegal River. The population of the commune of Saint-Louis (excluding the neighbouring rural communes of the department) is 254,171 according to the RGPH-5 2023 census (ANSD).
The country's INFORM flood risk indicator is 6.3/10, coastal-zone risk 5.5/10; the historic Île de Ndar and the Langue de Barbarie spit are prone to coastal erosion and seasonal flooding.
Saly
A resort town on the Petite Côte, the country's main beach tourism centre, administratively the commune of Saly Portudal. Population - 41,811 according to the RGPH-5 2023 census (ANSD); livingcost.org has no page for the city, so rent and utilities are not filled in.
A coastal resort town: the country's INFORM coastal-zone risk indicator is 5.5/10, tropical cyclone risk is essentially zero (0.0/10); beach erosion is characteristic of the whole Petite Côte.
Grocery basket
- Bread, 500 g
- $ 0,64
- Milk, 1 l
- $ 2,64
- Eggs, 12
- $ 2,42
- Chicken breast, 1 kg
- $ 9,72
- Cheese, 1 kg
- $ 17,1
- Rice, 1 kg
- $ 1,54
- Potatoes, 1 kg
- $ 1,48
- Apples, 1 kg
- $ 3,18
- Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l
- $ 2,54
- Total
- $ 41,3
The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.
Cost of living across the country
- Rent, 1 bedroom
- $ 626 a month
- Rent, 3 bedrooms
- $ 1 784 a month
- Utility bills
- $ 179 a month
- Home internet
- $ 47,5 a month
- Monthly transport pass
- $ 59,2 a month
- Single transport ticket
- $ 0,38
- Petrol, litre
- $ 1,66
- Cold medicine
- $ 5,11 for a week
Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.
Indicators
- Life expectancy
- 68,9 years2024
- Homicides
- 0,3 per 100k2015 · data lags behind
- Road deaths
- 20,8 per 100k2021
- Unemployment
- 2,7 %2025
- Unemployment, ages 15–24
- 3,6 %2025
- Inequality (Gini)
- 36,22021 · data lags behind
- Health spending per person
- $ 73,2 a year
- Air pollution, PM2.5
- 41,7 µg/m³2023
- Access to clean water
- 88 %2024
- Internet, fixed line
- 45,8 Mbit/s2026
Governance
- Political stability
- below average · -0,2
- Control of corruption
- above average · 0,1
- Rule of law
- below average · -0,2
- Government effectiveness
- above average · 0,2
World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.
Natural hazards
- Earthquakes
- 0,1 out of 10
- River floods
- 6,3 out of 10
- Coastal floods
- 5,5 out of 10
- Tropical cyclones
- 0 out of 10
- Droughts
- 6,1 out of 10
- Tsunamis
- 3,9 out of 10
Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.
Pros and cons
Compare with other countries in the region
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Chad · Cote d'Ivoire · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · The Gambia · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Other countries in the region: Africa
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Cote d'Ivoire · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · The Gambia · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe