Before you start

An employment contract or letter of engagement stamped (visé) by the employment agency before you enter the country
Evidence the employer advertised the post first — Arrêté n° 4810 requires the vacancy to be published for two months through an approved channel before a non-national may be hired
An entry visa in your passport (applied for online, biometric visa issued on arrival at Abidjan Félix Houphouët-Boigny)
Foreign civil-status documents apostilled and translated into French by a sworn translator

Step-by-step

1
Employer gets the contract stamped, before you travel
The employment agency stamps the contract of a non-national on a prescribed form. Arrêté n° 4810 MEFPPS/AGEPE of 21 April 1997 puts this step ahead of admission to Ivorian territory. Every form and every HR conversation still says 'AGEPE' even though AGEPE was dissolved on 24 June 2015 and its functions passed to the Agence Emploi Jeunes — they mean the same step.
Via employerWho: Your employerBefore you flySet by the 1997 arrêté on a scale by origin and grade — for a non-African hire, XOF 750,000 at director level, XOF 500,000 for a cadre, XOF 300,000 for an agent de maîtrise. We found no gazetted revision since; confirm the current figure with the Ministère de l'Emploi.
2
Enter on the e-Visa, collect the biometric visa at the airport
Apply online through the state-accredited portal, then have the physical biometric visa issued at Félix Houphouët-Boigny airport on arrival. Keep the entry stamp page intact — ONECI asks for a copy of the stamp, not just the visa, and a smudged stamp means a return trip.
OnlineWho: YouApply about a week ahead; the visa itself is issued on landingAround €73 all-in via the official portal — verify before applying
3
Apply for the carte de travail within three months of hiring
Within a maximum of three months from your hiring date you must obtain a work card in your own name, presenting the application form, a certified copy of the stamped contract, two ID photos and a copy of your residence document. It is renewed annually.
In personWho: You, with the employer's paperworkWithin 3 months of your start date; renewed each yearAdministrative fees, normally borne by the employer
4
Pre-enrol online with ONECI — compulsory since 12 June 2023
Complete the resident-card pre-registration on ONECI's portal and print the récépissé. No file is accepted at the counter without it. Note the payments are itemised: one form for the card fee, a separate form for any late penalty, and a third if you want the VIP service.
OnlineWho: YouMinutes, plus an appointment slotFree to pre-enrol
5
Enrol in person and collect the carte de résident
Attend ONECI's resident-card centre near the Résidence Bertille in 2 Plateaux Vallons, Monday to Friday 8am–12pm, with the full file: passport identity page, visa, entry stamp, casier judiciaire, birth certificate, a certificat de résidence under six months old, your attestation de travail and the bank payment receipt.
In personWho: You15 working days for a first card, 7 for a renewalXOF 300,000 (XOF 150,000 for French nationals; XOF 35,000 for clergy and French cooperants)

Documents you’ll need

Passport identity page, plus copies of the visa and the entry stamp
Extrait de casier judiciaire (under three months old for a renewal)
Birth certificate or equivalent, apostilled and translated into French
Certificat de résidence issued less than six months ago
Attestation de travail from your employer (or registre de commerce if self-employed)
ONECI online pre-enrolment receipt and the bank payment receipt

Things most newcomers don’t know

Côte d'Ivoire runs two opposite residence regimes out of the same 2007 ordinance.

Ordonnance n° 2007-604 abolished the residence permit for ECOWAS nationals and, in its Article 3, made the resident card compulsory for everyone else beyond three months. Local advice that 'nobody needs papers here' is true for most of the foreign-born population and criminally wrong for you.

Source: Ordonnance n° 2007-604 du 8 novembre 2007

The contract must be stamped before you land, not after.

The 1997 arrêté places the contract visa ahead of admission to Ivorian territory. Arriving on a tourist e-Visa intending to sort it out from inside is the single most common and most expensive sequencing mistake, because the fix is a departure and a fresh entry.

Source: Arrêté n° 4810 MEFPPS/AGEPE, 21 April 1997

XOF 300,000 is a flat fee — students and retirees pay it too.

There is no concession by category. A student on an attestation de fréquentation and a retiree on a pension slip pay exactly what an oil executive pays, which makes the card a serious line in a modest budget and catches people who assumed a student rate existed.

Source: ONECI / Service Public de Côte d'Ivoire

The certificat de résidence expires faster than you'd expect.

ONECI wants one under six months old and, at renewal, a casier judiciaire under three months. People collect documents in the order they think of them and find the first one stale by the time the last arrives. Get the police certificate and the residence certificate last.

Source: ONECI — documents à fournir

Common mistakes to avoid

Landing on a tourist e-Visa with an unstamped contract and trying to regularise from inside
Letting the three-month clock run out — being resident without the card carries imprisonment and a fine, not just a late fee
Turning up at ONECI without the online pre-enrolment receipt; the counter will not accept the file
Paying the card fee, the penalty and the VIP service on one form when ONECI requires three
Assuming your ECOWAS colleague's experience of the paperwork tells you anything about yours

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