The Republic of Mali is a country located in West Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. The basis of the economy is agriculture. The population is about 20 million people. Despite the poverty, many tourists come to the country. It is connected with the original culture and nature.

Visa to Mali

Most foreigners need a visa to cross the border into Mali. The simplest visa is a tourist visa. It can be obtained in two ways — directly at the embassy of the specified country or by contacting an intermediary. Embassies of Mali are not in all countries. Mediators will help in solving this problem.

To apply for a visa, you must provide documents. In some cases, their list may differ, but in general, you need to provide the embassy or consulate with:

• a foreign passport, the validity of which will be valid for at least 6 more months from the moment of crossing the border;

• if you have an old foreign passport, you must also present it;

• two typical passport photos 3 by 4 cm;

• a questionnaire filled out in French in 2 copies (the questionnaire can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali, printed and filled out by hand);

• questionnaire (filled in at the embassy during a conversation with an immigration officer);

• rental documents for all stays in the state (in the case of a short visit), this may be a hotel or accommodation provided by local residents (in this case, an official letter from the owner of the accommodation must be provided);

• receipt of payment of the consular fee (the price depends on the type of visa, as of the summer of 2022 it is 140 US dollars, but the price may increase due to global trends and inflation);

• yellow fever vaccination certificate.

If all documents are provided and the immigration service does not have any questions, then a visa is issued within 2 to 4 business days. If additional questions arise, the procedure may be delayed until the circumstances are clarified.

In order to be guaranteed a visa and the right to temporary or permanent residence in Mali, it makes sense to seek legal support from a professional company. In this case, it is possible to seek help and support for immigration, work or just crossing the border with Mali.

Obtaining a residence permit in Mali

Obtaining a Temporary Residence Permit (PRP) in Mali is quite simple, as the local legislation allows dual citizenship. To obtain a residence permit, you must:

• Appear in person at the nearest civil status office at City Hall.

• Provide a list of documents (presented below).

• Pay a consular fee of 200 FCFA francs, which is equivalent to $0.3 for each person.

If the officer does not have any questions, your application will be registered and after a while (the officer will inform you additionally) you will be able to pick up the residence permit documents.

Required documents for adult foreigners:

• Passport of the state of which you are a citizen.

• International passport.

• Valid visa.

For minor children:

• Identity card and extracts from the child's birth certificate and seal.

• Identity card in the absence of a copy of the birth certificate.

• Tax reference.

• For children with guardianship, an extract from the birth certificate.

Citizenship of Mali

There are two main ways in which a foreigner is eligible to acquire Malian citizenship. The first is by birth. Children born in a legal marriage automatically receive citizenship, provided that their parents were citizens of Mali. For illegitimate children, upon reaching the age of majority, an administrative verification procedure is provided.

A foreigner may acquire citizenship by naturalization in the following cases:

• The period of permanent residence in the country must be at least 10 years.

• Know and understand the culture, customs, languages of the local population.

• Have positive characteristics from the police and surrounding people, do not have mental health problems.

• Children of foreigners who are adopted by Malian parents are automatically granted citizenship.

• If a foreigner has minor children at the time of obtaining citizenship, they also receive citizenship of Mali.

• Children of foreigners born in Mali are eligible to acquire citizenship from the age of 6 months to the age of majority, provided that they have lived in the country for at least 5 years.

• A foreign woman can acquire Malian citizenship by marrying a Malian citizen.

• Foreign parents (or stateless persons) are eligible to acquire Malian citizenship if they are the guardians of a child who is a Malian citizen. In this case, the condition must be observed - they live in the country for at least 1 year.

Mali law allows for dual citizenship (Article 38 of the Citizenship Code)! To understand all the intricacies of crossing the border, obtaining permanent residence and citizenship, it is recommended to buy a checklist that contains relevant and useful information on this topic.