Mali entry requirements, by passport
Mali visa requirements at a glance: 11 of the 81 passports VisaRadar tracks can enter Mali without arranging a visa beforehand — visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorization. The other 70 must obtain a visa before they travel.
Which passport do you hold?
We'll take you straight to the entry requirements for Mali for your nationality.
What we've verified for Mali
Beyond the yes/no matrix, we've checked these against an official primary source (last checked 2026-09-17). The specifics depend on your nationality — open your passport's row in the table for the detail that applies to you.
- Standard short-stay visa fee: EUR 70.00
- Typical processing time
- Required documents (6)
- Required vaccinations
- Health-insurance rules
- Customs limits (cash, alcohol, tobacco)
- Airport transit rules
Sources: embajadademali.es (Embassy of the Republic of Mali in Spain, consular section — visa requirements: compulsory appointment, passport valid for more than 6 months, two passport photos on a white background, application form, copy of the return flight booking, hotel booking or invitation letter, photocopy of the yellow fever card, applicant's presence in person; fee scale by length from €70 to €120 and issue within 3-4 days after the interview; verified via direct fetch); exteriores.gob.es (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advice for Mali: "travel to Mali is advised against under any circumstances", no visa at the border, compulsory yellow fever vaccination, special authorization for journalism and filming, areas advised against in the north, the centre and the border strips); Regulation No. 09/2010/CM/UEMOA on the external financial relations of UEMOA member states (written currency declaration by non-resident travellers above 1,000,000 FCFA) and the BCEAO innovations note on its revision (proposal to raise the threshold to 2,000,000 FCFA; downloaded and read as PDF); whc.unesco.org (World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger) (checked 17 September 2026).
This table summarizes the exact entry mechanism for every passport we track — the difference between entering visa-free, with an electronic authorization, with an e-Visa, or with a traditional visa is explained in visa, e-Visa, and electronic authorization: what's the difference. How we verify every row before publishing it is on methodology.
Base entry rules refreshed 2026-09-17. Published: .
| Passport | Requirement | Max. stay |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free | ||
| Algeria | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Cape Verde | Visa-free | — |
| Gambia | Visa-free | — |
| Ghana | Visa-free | — |
| Indonesia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Kenya | Visa on arrival | — |
| Morocco | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Nigeria | Visa-free | — |
| Senegal | Visa-free | — |
| Tunisia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Arab Emirates | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Visa required | ||
| Argentina | Visa required | — |
| Australia | Visa required | — |
| Austria | Visa required | — |
| Bangladesh | Visa required | — |
| Belgium | Visa required | — |
| Bolivia | Visa required | — |
| Brazil | Visa required | — |
| Bulgaria | Visa required | — |
| Canada | Visa required | — |
| Chile | Visa required | — |
| China | Visa required | — |
| Colombia | Visa required | — |
| Costa Rica | Visa required | — |
| Croatia | Visa required | — |
| Cuba | Visa required | — |
| Czech Republic | Visa required | — |
| Denmark | Visa required | — |
| Dominican Republic | Visa required | — |
| Ecuador | Visa required | — |
| Egypt | Visa required | — |
| El Salvador | Visa required | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | Visa required | — |
| Finland | Visa required | — |
| France | Visa required | — |
| Georgia | Visa required | — |
| Germany | Visa required | — |
| Greece | Visa required | — |
| Guatemala | Visa required | — |
| Honduras | Visa required | — |
| Hungary | Visa required | — |
| Iceland | Visa required | — |
| India | Visa required | — |
| Ireland | Visa required | — |
| Israel | Visa required | — |
| Italy | Visa required | — |
| Japan | Visa required | — |
| Jordan | Visa required | — |
| Malaysia | Visa required | — |
| Malta | Visa required | — |
| Mexico | Visa required | — |
| Moldova | Visa required | — |
| Netherlands | Visa required | — |
| New Zealand | Visa required | — |
| Nicaragua | Visa required | — |
| Norway | Visa required | — |
| Pakistan | Visa required | — |
| Panama | Visa required | — |
| Paraguay | Visa required | — |
| Peru | Visa required | — |
| Philippines | Visa required | — |
| Poland | Visa required | — |
| Portugal | Visa required | — |
| Romania | Visa required | — |
| Russia | Visa required | — |
| Saudi Arabia | Visa required | — |
| Singapore | Visa required | — |
| South Africa | Visa required | — |
| South Korea | Visa required | — |
| Spain | Visa required | — |
| Sri Lanka | Visa required | — |
| Sweden | Visa required | — |
| Switzerland | Visa required | — |
| Thailand | Visa required | — |
| Turkey | Visa required | — |
| Ukraine | Visa required | — |
| United Kingdom | Visa required | — |
| United States | Visa required | — |
| Uruguay | Visa required | — |
| Venezuela | Visa required | — |
| Vietnam | Visa required | — |
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Do you need a different visa for Bamako, Sikasso, or Mopti?
No. Mali sets the requirements, so entering through Bamako asks for the same as entering through Sikasso or Mopti. If you're arriving overland or through a small border post, check that separately: some countries apply their own rules to specific crossings.
What does change is where you file the application when a visa is needed, and that depends on the country you live in rather than the city you're travelling to.
What draws travelers to Mali
Mali holds some of the most extraordinary historic ensembles in West Africa, and today they are essentially impossible to visit: Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel to the country under any circumstances, and much of the heritage sits precisely in the regions worst hit by the Sahel conflict. It is still worth knowing about. Timbuktu, the city of caravans and manuscripts, with its three great adobe mosques, joined the World Heritage List in 1988; its mausoleums were destroyed in 2012 and rebuilt afterwards, a case that ended up before the International Criminal Court. The Old Towns of Djenné, from the same year, revolve around the Great Mosque, the largest mud-brick building in the world, replastered every year in a collective festival; they have been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2016. The Cliff of Bandiagara, land of the Dogon, has been a mixed site since 1989: villages clinging to a 150-kilometre escarpment, with an architectural and ritual culture of their own. The fourth and last is the Tomb of Askia in Gao (2004), a 15th-century mud pyramid raised by the Songhai emperor. The river Niger links that whole axis and remains the country's backbone.
Sources for this section: whc.unesco.org (World Heritage List: 4 sites in Mali — Timbuktu 1988, Old Towns of Djenné 1988, Cliff of Bandiagara/Land of the Dogons 1989, Tomb of Askia 2004; Djenné on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2016); Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advice for Mali (travel advised against under any circumstances, affected areas). Accessed 17 September 2026.
Things to see and do in Mali
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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Where can Mali passport holders travel visa-free? →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.