Mali visa requirements for Icelandic citizens

Fee

EUR 70.00

Fee schedule of the Embassy of Mali in Spain, by visa length: €70 for one month, €80 for two, €90 for three, €100 for four, €110 for five and €120 for six months. The application is made in person and an appointment is compulsory (embajadademali.es/cita-previa); without one the file is not processed.

Processing time

The Embassy of Mali in Spain issues the visa three or four days after the applicant attends in person for the interview. On top of that comes the wait for the compulsory appointment.

Required documents

• An original passport valid for more than six months on the date of travel.
• Two colour passport-size photographs on a white background (colour photocopies are not accepted).
• A duly completed application form and a photocopy of the passport.
• A copy of the return flight booking and a copy of the hotel booking or an invitation letter.
• A photocopy of the yellow fever vaccination card.
• An appointment booked at embajadademali.es/cita-previa and the applicant's compulsory presence in person.

Vaccinations

• Yellow fever: compulsory. The international vaccination certificate is already required when applying for the visa and the authorities may also ask for it at the border. It does not depend on where you are travelling from: Mali requires it across the board.
• Not an entry requirement, but worth knowing: malaria is present throughout the country all year round and medical services are very limited outside Bamako.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

The tourist visa issued by Malian consulates is granted for the length requested, from one to six months depending on the fee paid, and can be extended once in the country. There is no visa at the border: anyone arriving at Bamako airport without a visa faces a non-admission procedure. Essential context: Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel to Mali under any circumstances and recommends that Spanish nationals in the country consider leaving temporarily. The areas expressly advised against include the whole north (Taoudeni, Timbuktu, Ménaka, Kidal), the centre (Mopti, Ségou), every border strip except the one with Guinea, and parts of Kayes, Koulikoro and Sikasso. Journalism, photography and filming may need a special authorization requested together with the visa.

Customs limits

Cash

Mali is part of UEMOA and the CFA franc zone (fixed parity, €1 = 655.957 FCFA). Under Regulation No. 09/2010/CM/UEMOA on external financial relations, a non-resident traveller must declare in writing the currency and other means of payment they carry when it exceeds the equivalent of 1,000,000 CFA francs (~€1,525), both on entry and on exit. The BCEAO has proposed raising that threshold to 2,000,000 CFA francs as part of the regulation's revision: until that is confirmed in force, the applicable figure remains the one million.

Alcohol

No official alcohol allowance published by Mali's General Directorate of Customs on a citable page was found. The field is left without a figure rather than presenting a travel-industry number as official.

Tobacco

Same caveat as alcohol: no official Malian customs tobacco limit was found.

Common reasons for denial

• Turning up at the border without a visa: Mali does not issue visas on arrival and anyone arriving without one faces a non-admission procedure.
• Not presenting the international yellow fever vaccination certificate, required both when applying for the visa and, where applicable, at the border.
• A passport with less than six months' validity on the date of travel.
• An incomplete visa file: missing form, missing the two white-background photos, missing the return booking or the accommodation proof or invitation letter.
• Not attending in person: the Embassy requires the applicant's physical presence and an appointment to process the file.
• Carrying out journalism, photography or filming without the special authorization requested together with the visa.