Before you start

An e-Visa obtained on the official platform before travel — there is no longer any other lawful route for an ordinary traveller
A passport with an expiry date at least six months after your date of arrival
A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country listed as a transmission risk
A passport photograph for the police registration, and time in your first three days to do it
For work: an employer who has verified your residence card and whose contract has been approved by the employment-promotion body

Step-by-step

1
Apply on evisa.td and nowhere else
The generalised e-Visa took effect on 11 May 2026. All categories go through the platform except diplomatic and courtesy visas, which stay with the foreign ministry. From 21 May 2026, visas issued outside the platform are considered invalid and no longer permit entry, though visas issued before that date remain valid until they expire. The portal published a new visa fee schedule dated 11 May 2026 — read the current tariff there rather than anywhere else, because every third-party page quoting Chadian visa prices is now describing the old regime.
OnlineWho: YouApply well ahead; the platform is new and the fee schedule is recentPer the tariff published on the platform — check it there, and do not pay an agent a marked-up price for a document you can obtain yourself
2
Register with the police within 72 hours of arriving
UK government advice is unambiguous: if you stay in Chad more than 72 hours you must register with the police. Report to the Commissariat Central on Avenue General Kerim Nassour and bring a passport photograph. This is separate from, and earlier than, the residence card, and it is the obligation newcomers most often discover late. Do it in your first working day if you can.
In personWho: YouWithin 72 hours of arrivalNot published; take a photograph and small notes for any official receipt
3
Obtain the carte de séjour
Anyone intending to reside in Chad must hold a residence card, and the framework is decree-based: the 2024 decree n° 0128/PR/PM/MSPI/2024 sets the visitor and resident categories and the compliance requirements, and the 2025 decree n° 2299/PR/PM/MSPI/2025 of 17 September 2025 governs the conditions of admission to stay and the exercise of professions, with articles 51 and 52 the ones the police cite. The card is applied for through the immigration authorities in N'Djamena; the fee and the term are not published on any page we could read, so get the schedule at the counter, in writing.
In personWho: You, usually with your employer's administrationNot published — start as soon as you arriveNot published; insist on an official receipt for every payment
4
Get the employment authorised before you work
Chadian rules prohibit employing anyone whose work contract has not been approved by the body responsible for employment promotion, and any professional activity requires its prior authorisation. Commercial, industrial and liberal professions additionally need authorisation from the residence authorities. The employer is the applicant. Starting work on the strength of a visa and a handshake exposes the employer, which in practice means it exposes your job.
Via employerWho: Your employerBefore your first dayAn issuance fee is charged; we found no official published schedule and are not going to quote an unofficial one — ask the employment office directly
5
Carry the documents, and expect to be asked
On 19 and 20 May 2026 the Director-General of the National Police ordered permanent and unannounced checks on the regularity of foreigners' visas and residence cards across the whole territory, under articles 51 and 52 of the 2025 decree, with provincial police directors and the immigration directorate given two weeks to sweep the country. UK advice separately says to always carry a certified copy of your passport. Photographing military sites, government buildings or airports without a permit is illegal.
In personWho: YouEvery dayCertified copies, and the time to get them made
6
Get permission before travelling outside the capital
UK government advice records that travel outside N'Djamena requires authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior, and recommends escorts and communications equipment for journeys beyond the city. This is an ordinary administrative step for anyone working in the provinces, and an ambush for anyone who assumed a residence card was a licence to move around the country.
In personWho: You and your employerBefore each trip outside N'DjamenaNot published

Documents you’ll need

e-Visa obtained on the official platform, and the confirmation to show at the border
Passport valid at least six months beyond arrival
Yellow fever certificate, if arriving from a listed transmission-risk country
Passport photographs — for the police registration and for everything afterwards
Employment contract approved by the employment-promotion body, if you are working
Carte de séjour, and a certified copy of the passport to carry daily
Ministry of the Interior authorisation for travel outside N'Djamena

Things most newcomers don’t know

A visa not issued by evisa.td does not work any more. That rule is months old.

Chad generalised the e-Visa on 11 May 2026 and, from 21 May, treats visas issued outside the platform as invalid. Manual entry authorisations were abolished at the same time. Visas issued before the cut-off remain valid to expiry. This is the single most important recent change in Chadian immigration and it invalidates most of what is written about the subject online.

Source: Direction des Étrangers et de l'Immigration — evisa.td; Chadian press, May 2026

The 72-hour police registration is the obligation newcomers miss.

It is separate from the visa and separate from the residence card, it falls due before most people have unpacked, and it has a named address: the Commissariat Central on Avenue General Kerim Nassour. Missing it was survivable when nobody checked. Since the May 2026 sweep, it is not the kind of gap you want to explain at a roadside.

Source: UK FCDO — Chad entry requirements

Enforcement is now a standing police operation rather than an occasional drive.

The National Police ordered permanent and surprise checks on foreigners' visas and residence cards nationwide in May 2026, under articles 51 and 52 of decree n° 2299/PR/PM/MSPI/2025, giving provincial directors a two-week deadline to cover the territory. A first sweep in one N'Djamena district produced hundreds of apprehensions in a day. Carry the documents.

Source: ONAMA and Le Pays — National Police instruction, 19–20 May 2026

Your employer needs your residence card before they can lawfully hire you.

Chadian rules put the card first: an employer must ensure the foreign worker holds one, and must not employ anyone whose contract has not been approved by the employment-promotion body. That sequencing means a job offer is not a route into the country on its own — you need the visa and the card in place for the contract to be approvable.

Source: Décret n° 0128/PR/PM/MSPI/2024, as reported by Chadian legal and press sources

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a Chadian visa from an agent who is not using the official platform — since 21 May 2026 that document is invalid
Landing and not registering with the police within 72 hours
Arriving with a passport valid for less than six months beyond your arrival date
Starting work before the employment-promotion body has approved the contract
Leaving N'Djamena without Ministry of the Interior authorisation
Photographing military sites, government buildings or airports — illegal without a permit, and people are detained for it
Relying on any Chad visa guide written before mid-2026

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