The Gambia work permit (Residential Permit B)

GID issues Permit B, after application and approval, to people who intend to live, reside and work in The Gambia, naming businesspeople, expatriates, unskilled workers and other professionals paid for their livelihood. Under the immigration laws, no non-citizen may engage in gainful employment without a residence and work permit. ECOWAS citizens receive their permit under the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment.

Expatriate quota management is under the Ministry of Trade, with GID acting as secretariat and enforcement body alongside the Gambia Revenue Authority and the Labour Department. Positions that qualified Gambians can fill are reserved for them, and the target is a workforce of 80 percent Gambians and 20 percent non-Gambians with skills not available locally. Employers buy the quota application form for D100 and support it with payroll, incorporation and tax clearance documents, a plan to replace expatriates with Gambians, an organisation chart, and advertisement and interview reports. After Board approval, the employer pays a yearly rate per expatriate to the Gambia Revenue Authority: D10,000 for ECOWAS nationals, with a higher non-ECOWAS rate.

GID asks for the passport, a document establishing your status and identity, an attestation from your embassy or high commission, the Gambia Revenue Authority payroll tax receipt and, for renewals, the previous year's permit.

The non-refundable permit fees are D3600 for ECOWAS citizens and D7700 for non-ECOWAS nationals, which includes D2500 for the Alien Card. These are separate from the employer's expatriate quota payments. GID notes that fees may change.

Non-ECOWAS nationals become eligible after up to 56 days in the country following admission, ECOWAS citizens after 90 days; extend your stay at an immigration office in the meantime if needed. The steps are the same as for Permit A: VISTA Bank form and receipt, countersignature by a Justice of the Peace, interview with an approving officer, biometric enrolment, verification, central printing in Kanifing and collection at your site.