Madagascar tourist eVisa

The eVisa is an electronic visa issued by the border police in the non-immigrant category for a stay of less than 60 days, and the system currently handles tourist visas only. All nationalities are eligible, so any traveller who wants a tourist visa of up to 60 days can apply online. Diplomats and missionaries travelling on a mission order cannot use the online system and apply on arrival; diplomats and employees of certain organisations are exempt from visa fees. Holders of a valid Malagasy passport or resident card do not need a visa.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists Malagasy embassies in fewer than twenty countries. Tourists who live where there is no mission therefore use the online eVisa or the eVisa counters on arrival.

The online application is paid and costs the same as the visa on arrival. The official fee table sets four bands by length of stay: USD 35 or EUR 30 for 1 to 15 days, USD 41 or EUR 35 for 16 to 30 days, USD 47 or EUR 40 for 31 to 60 days and USD 59 or EUR 50 for 61 to 90 days. The portal warns that scam sites may overcharge for the visa and states that it is the only official platform of the Republic of Madagascar for online visa applications. Travellers who prefer not to apply online can request the visa at the eVisa counters on arrival.

Before starting, have a valid passport, a payment card and access to your email and phone, which receive validation codes. The process has three steps. First, create an account under the visa application tab by registering with your name, personal email address and a password, sign in, choose 'create a new application' and fill in the online form with your identity and travel details. Second, choose the length of stay, give your date of arrival in Madagascar and pay by card. Third, validate the application and download the electronic travel authorisation, which lets you board and is presented at the eVisa counters and to the police on arrival, printed or on a smartphone.

Applications can be made between one week and six months before departure. Data can be edited until the application is sent; afterwards, errors are reported through the contact form with the subject 'Error on my request'. If validation codes do not arrive, check the email address and phone number and then use the contact form; if the authorisation itself does not arrive, write to the support address with your request number.

The visa starts on the date you arrive in Madagascar, not on the date of approval. If you asked for fewer days than you will actually stay, or want to stay beyond 60 days, extend the visa at an immigration office, up to a total of 90 days. Holders of a non-immigrant visa may not carry out paid activities and may not obtain an immigrant visa on the spot; settling in Madagascar starts with an immigrant visa requested before travel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can also issue non-immigrant visas of up to 90 days through its missions abroad. For these, it lists two photos, an application form, a return ticket, a passport valid for more than six months and a copy of it, payment of the visa fee and a yellow fever vaccination certificate for visitors who stayed in an infected country during the previous six days, plus documents for the purpose: a medical certificate and hospital admission for treatment, a research authorisation for scientific work, a letter and company file for business, and specific authorisations for filming, yachts and cruises.