Before you start

A passport valid at least six months beyond arrival, plus copies of its first pages
A written employment contract stamped by the DGTSS if you are working — Article L.33 of the Code du travail
Or, for students, a certificat de scolarité for the current year plus a prise en charge or embassy scholarship letter
An extrait de casier judiciaire under three months old, a birth certificate under six months, and a medical certificate under three months
Foreign civil-status documents legalised and translated into French

Step-by-step

1
Employer files the contract for the DGTSS visa
Article L.33 requires the contract to be written, preceded by a medical examination, and stamped by the labour directorate. Article L.34 puts the obligation on the employer, makes a refused contract null by operation of law, and deems the visa granted if the DGTSS has not answered within fifteen days of the request.
Via employerWho: Your employer15 days, after which silence counts as approvalBorne by the employer; no published tariff we could confirm
2
Enter — most nationalities need no visa
Senegal introduced a biometric entry visa in 2013 and scrapped it from 1 May 2015. Every ECOWAS and EU state plus around fifty others get ninety days on arrival with a six-month passport. Saint-Louis has its own small airport, but almost everyone arrives via Blaise Diagne outside Dakar and drives north.
In personWho: YouOn arrivalFree for exempt nationalities
3
Write the demande manuscrite and assemble the file
The application opens with a handwritten letter to the Ministre chargé de l'Intérieur — handwritten, not typed. With it go copies of the first five passport pages, the casier judiciaire, the birth certificate, the medical certificate, your stamped contract or enrolment evidence, three photographs, the XOF 15,000 fiscal stamp and the repatriation-bond receipt.
In personWho: YouDays to weeks, gated by home-country documentsXOF 15,000 fiscal stamp — students reported exempt
4
Lodge it with the regional police, and expect it to travel
Outside Dakar the file goes to the police or gendarmerie of your place of residence and is forwarded to the DPETV. Saint-Louis is a regional capital, so the regional police services are here rather than in another town — a genuine advantage over Touba, where the departmental seat is a different place entirely. Confirm which office takes your file before you carry the papers anywhere.
In personWho: YouAdds weeks to an already unpublished timelineIncluded in the stamp
5
Keep the récépissé on you
The receipt issued when the file is accepted is what covers you while the card is produced. Document checks intensified across Dakar in November 2025 and the lesson generalises: what you are carrying is the argument, not what is in a drawer at home.
In personWho: YouUntil the card is issuedFree

Documents you’ll need

Handwritten application addressed to the Minister of the Interior
Passport plus copies of its first five pages
Extrait de casier judiciaire under three months old
Birth certificate under six months old and a medical certificate under three months old
Employment contract stamped by the DGTSS, or certificat de scolarité and proof of support
Three photographs, the XOF 15,000 fiscal stamp and the repatriation-bond receipt

Things most newcomers don’t know

A regional capital is a materially better place to be foreign than a large town that is not one.

Saint-Louis holds the regional administration, so the police services that take your file are here rather than an hour away. Compare Touba, which is Senegal's second-largest city and whose departmental seat is in Mbacké and regional seat in Diourbel. The card is issued in Dakar either way, but how many trips it takes to lodge it is not the same.

Source: Ministère de l'Intérieur / DPETV

ECOWAS citizenship does not excuse you from the card in Senegal.

Côte d'Ivoire abolished the residence permit for community nationals outright in 2007; Senegal did not. It waives the visa and, as reported, the bond and the establishment authorisation, and keeps the card. The November 2025 sweeps in Dakar picked up ECOWAS nationals among others.

Source: Ministère de l'Intérieur; press reporting, November 2025

Silence from the labour directorate is approval.

Article L.34 deems the contract visa granted if the DGTSS has not decided within fifteen days. It is one of very few hard deadlines in this process and worth citing when an employer says the file is 'still with the ministry' in week six.

Source: Code du travail, Loi n° 97-17, art. L.34

Gaston Berger's international students are the biggest single group doing this here.

The student category substitutes an enrolment certificate and a support or scholarship letter for the employment contract, and is reported to carry exemptions from both the stamp and the bond. It also has no successor: Senegal publishes no post-study work route, so a graduate needs an employer to run the full Article L.33 process from the beginning.

Source: Ministère de l'Intérieur — document list

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming the Ivorian ECOWAS rule applies here — it does not
Typing the demande manuscrite
Driving to Dakar with the file before checking which local office is supposed to receive it
Letting the casier judiciaire or medical certificate go stale while the file travels
Graduating from UGB and assuming study time converts into a work right — it does not
Starting work on a contract that has not been to the DGTSS; a refused visa makes it null

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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