Madagascar immigrant visa for long stays

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is empowered to issue boarding agreements or 72-hour entry visas so that a foreigner who wants to settle in Madagascar can obtain a one-month visa that is convertible and extendable into a long stay. Obtaining this visa is compulsory before any long-stay visa application is filed with the Ministry of the Interior. Nationals of countries where Madagascar has an embassy or consulate must apply at that mission instead. Tourist and other non-immigrant visa holders cannot obtain an immigrant visa on the spot, so the immigrant visa is requested before travelling.

Investors add the company statutes registered at the tax centre, the declaration or certificate of existence, the company's statistical card, an extract from the trade and companies register, the tax identification card or professional card, a bank certificate for the company and a tax payment certificate; company officers and managers add the statutes and the minutes of their appointment, registered at the tax centre, with the same company documents. Business travellers on a permanent business visa add a letter and file from their company abroad. Workers add an employment contract endorsed by the Ministry of Civil Service, Labour and Social Laws, proof that the work authorisation request was filed with that ministry, an employment certificate endorsed by the employer, and the employer's register extract, tax card, statistical card and the manager's identity card.

For family reunion, the file includes the birth certificate of each child under 21 and the marriage certificate for a spouse. Retirees add a bank certificate confirming that their account is regularly funded and their notice of retirement or pension certificate. Students add their diploma, a certificate of enrolment and a scholarship certificate or proof of resources. Missionaries, lay volunteer workers, scientists and people of Malagasy origin have their own lists, such as a research authorisation from the ministry in charge for scientists and a Malagasy birth certificate for natives.

The common file contains two identity photos, a reasoned request explaining the purpose of the stay, an extract of the criminal record from the country of origin less than six months old and translated into French or English, a copy of a passport valid for more than six months, an information form, a certificate of accommodation and financial support with a legalised signature or a lease, a copy of the host's national identity card or resident card, and the host's certificate of residence.

The ministry's published list of Malagasy embassies covers Algeria, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Canada, China, the United States, Ethiopia, France, Mauritius, India, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Russia and Senegal, with consulates general in France, Réunion and South Africa. Nationals of these countries apply at the mission. Under the rule above, applicants from a country without a mission go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Antananarivo, B.P. 836, Rue Andriamifidy, Anosy, which can be contacted at info-web@diplomatie.gov.mg.

The one-month immigrant visa is then converted and extended into a long stay through a long-stay visa application to the Ministry of the Interior, which cannot be filed without it. People who entered on a non-immigrant visa cannot claim an immigrant visa on the spot and may not carry out paid activities.