Gambia visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens

Fee

USD 20.00

There is no visa fee for a Spanish passport, but there is a Securiport fee of 1,000 dalasi (the equivalent of 20 US dollars) paid by every passenger on arrival, except diplomats and children under two. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also warns of another 20 euro or dollar fee on leaving the country: set that cash aside rather than spending it before heading to the airport.

Required documents

• A passport is compulsory, valid for more than six months.
• An international yellow fever vaccination certificate for travellers aged 9 months and over arriving from a country with risk of transmission, or who have transited for more than 12 hours through an airport in one of those countries.
• A disembarkation card, filled in on arrival, and biometric enrolment in the Integrated Immigration Control System (fingerprints, iris and passport data page).
• Visible means of sustenance, and a return or onward ticket: the Immigration Department expressly requires it of first-time travellers.

Vaccinations

• Yellow fever: required of travellers aged 9 months and over arriving from a country with risk of transmission or who have transited for more than 12 hours through an airport in one of them. Arriving directly from Spain it is not required, but Gambia is in the endemic zone and vaccination is strongly recommended.
• Not an entry requirement, but worth knowing: malaria is present throughout the country and medical services are poor; Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends taking out international medical insurance with repatriation cover.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

The Government of The Gambia publishes that citizens of the United Kingdom, EU member states, the Commonwealth, ECOWAS and countries with a reciprocal exemption agreement enter without a visa for stays of up to 90 days, for tourism or business. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by contrast, describes the exemption as covering tourist trips of less than 28 days entering through Banjul airport, and notes that since August 2020 no visa is required when entering overland from Senegal either. Given that discrepancy, the prudent course is to plan for 28 days and check with the Gambian Embassy before planning a longer stay. From day 56 of cumulative presence within a twelve-month period, the Immigration Department requires non-ECOWAS nationals to go to a designated immigration office to extend their stay; that is where the residence permit circuit begins.

Customs limits

Cash

Currency above 10,000 US dollars or the equivalent must be declared to customs, following the corresponding customs procedure (Gambia Revenue Authority). The national currency is the dalasi; euros, dollars and pounds sterling are commonly accepted.

Alcohol

The Gambia Revenue Authority publishes the excise rates on alcohol (100 dalasi per litre of beer, 150 per litre of wine, 175 per litre of spirits), but not a citable traveller allowance. The field is left without a figure rather than presenting a travel-industry number as official.

Tobacco

Same caveat as alcohol: the Revenue Authority publishes the excise duty (20 dalasi per pack of cigarettes, 330 per kilo of unmanufactured tobacco), not a traveller allowance.

Overstay penalties

The Gambia Immigration Department puts it bluntly: it is an offence for any non-Gambian to stay in the country beyond the period granted to them. Anyone still in The Gambia when their first authorized period expires must go to a designated immigration office to extend their stay. For non-ECOWAS nationals, cumulative presence of more than 56 days in twelve months triggers an extension fee which, according to the instruction circulated through specialist immigration firms, runs from 200 dollars (up to 90 days) to 1,000 (90 to 180) and 2,000 (180 to 365); we could not confirm those amounts on an official Gambian page. The consequences of not regularizing range from a fine to detention and removal with a re-entry ban.

Common reasons for denial

• Not presenting the international yellow fever vaccination certificate when arriving from a country with risk of transmission or after transiting more than 12 hours through one.
• Not showing visible means of sustenance for the stay.
• Not carrying a return or onward ticket: the Immigration Department expressly requires it of first-time travellers.
• A passport with less than six months' validity.
• Refusing the biometric enrolment (fingerprints and iris) of the Integrated Immigration Control System or the Securiport fee on arrival.
• Holding a valid visa but not meeting the remaining conditions: the Department itself warns that a visa does not guarantee entry, which is decided by the immigration officer at the port of arrival.