Before you start

A passport valid at least six months beyond arrival, plus copies of its first pages
A written employment contract stamped by the DGTSS if you are working — Article L.33 of the Code du travail makes the visa compulsory for any contract that installs the worker outside their habitual residence
An extrait de casier judiciaire from your home country, under three months old
A birth certificate under six months old and a medical certificate under three months old
Foreign civil-status documents legalised and translated into French

Step-by-step

1
Employer files the contract for the DGTSS visa
Article L.33 requires the contract to be written, preceded by a medical examination, and stamped by the Direction générale du Travail et de la Sécurité sociale. Article L.34 puts the obligation on the employer, makes a refused contract null by operation of law, and deems the visa granted if the DGTSS has not answered within fifteen days.
Via employerWho: Your employer15 days, after which silence counts as approvalBorne by the employer; no published tariff we could confirm
2
Enter — most nationalities need no visa
Senegal introduced a biometric entry visa in 2013 and scrapped it from 1 May 2015. Every ECOWAS and EU state plus around fifty others get ninety days on arrival with a six-month passport. Arriving for Touba specifically, note that the nearest airport is Blaise Diagne outside Dakar, roughly 170 km away by the Ila Touba motorway.
In personWho: YouOn arrivalFree for exempt nationalities
3
Write the demande manuscrite and assemble the file
The application opens with a handwritten letter to the Ministre chargé de l'Intérieur — handwritten, not typed. With it go copies of the first five passport pages, the casier judiciaire, the birth certificate, the medical certificate, your stamped contract or enrolment evidence, three photographs, the XOF 15,000 fiscal stamp and the repatriation-bond receipt.
In personWho: YouDays to weeks, gated by the home-country documentsXOF 15,000 fiscal stamp
4
Lodge it locally — the file travels to Dakar
Outside the capital the file goes to the police or gendarmerie of your place of residence and is forwarded to the DPETV in Dieuppeul, Dakar. Departmental services for Touba sit in Mbacké and regional ones in Diourbel. This is the single practical difference between doing this from Touba and doing it from the capital, and it is worth a phone call to establish exactly which office takes your file before you carry the papers anywhere.
In personWho: YouAdd weeks to an already unpublished timelineIncluded in the stamp
5
Keep the récépissé, and keep it on you
The receipt issued when your file is accepted is what covers you while the card is produced. Police document checks intensified across Dakar in November 2025 and the general lesson holds everywhere: the paper you are carrying is the argument, not the paper in a drawer at home.
In personWho: YouUntil the card is issuedFree

Documents you’ll need

Handwritten application addressed to the Minister of the Interior
Passport plus copies of its first five pages
Extrait de casier judiciaire from your home country, under three months old
Birth certificate under six months old and a medical certificate under three months old
Employment contract stamped by the DGTSS, or enrolment evidence and proof of support
Three photographs, the XOF 15,000 fiscal stamp and the repatriation-bond receipt

Things most newcomers don’t know

Living in Touba adds a hop to every immigration interaction.

The DPETV counter is in Dakar and there is no regional equivalent that issues the card. Everything you file here is forwarded, which means slower feedback, more trips and less ability to chase a stalled file in person. It is the strongest practical argument for basing yourself in the capital during your first year.

Source: Ministère de l'Intérieur / DPETV

ECOWAS citizenship does not excuse you from the card in Senegal.

Côte d'Ivoire abolished the residence permit for community nationals outright in 2007; Senegal did not. It waives the visa and, as reported, the bond and the establishment authorisation, and keeps the card. Anyone reasoning from Abidjan will get this wrong, and the November 2025 sweeps in Dakar picked up ECOWAS nationals.

Source: Ministère de l'Intérieur; press reporting, November 2025

Silence from the labour directorate is approval.

Article L.34 of the Code du travail deems the contract visa granted if the DGTSS has not decided within fifteen days of the request. It is one of very few hard statutory deadlines in this process, and useful when an employer says the file is 'still with the ministry' in week six.

Source: Code du travail, Loi n° 97-17, art. L.34

The nearest airport is a motorway away, and that motorway is why it works.

Blaise Diagne is roughly 170 km from Touba, but the A2 Ila Touba opened in December 2018 and turned what was a long day into a straightforward drive. Outside the Magal week, that is the difference between Touba being remote and Touba being connected.

Source: AGEROUTE / Ila Touba motorway, opened December 2018

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming the Ivorian ECOWAS rule applies here — it does not, and the card is compulsory past ninety days
Typing the demande manuscrite
Carrying the file to Dakar yourself before checking which local office is supposed to receive it
Letting the casier judiciaire or the medical certificate go stale while the file travels
Leaving the récépissé at home
Starting work on a contract that has not been to the DGTSS — a refused visa makes it null, not merely irregular

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