Tunisia tourist visa and visa-free stays

The Tunisian embassy in Washington publishes the list of nationalities that do not need a visa to enter Tunisia and may stay up to 90 days. Besides the United States, it covers the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Hong Kong, Türkiye, the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius; in Europe, among others, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina; and in Africa and the Arab world Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

Nationals of countries not on the list need a visa. Lists change by government decision, so check with the Tunisian mission that covers you shortly before you book if your nationality is not one of the obvious cases.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires every foreign national entering Tunisia to hold a passport valid for at least six months from the date of entry, plus a visa where one is needed. The six months are counted from the day you arrive, not from the day you leave, so a passport that expires within half a year of arrival should be renewed before the trip.

Visa-free entry is meant for visits: tourism, family stays and short business trips. It does not cover salaried work, which needs a separate authorisation from the Ministry of Employment and a residence card for workers.

Tunisian missions use a bilingual short-stay and transit visa form issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It asks for your residence over the last two years, the planned date and point of entry, your means of transport, your address in Tunisia and the people you know there. The embassy in Washington adds a passport valid six months, a copy of its data page, a recent photo, proof of legal status in the country where you apply (for example a residence card) and either a hotel reservation or a notarised invitation letter from your host in Tunisia.

Because the mission covers only residents of its area, a person staying in that country as a visitor cannot apply there; the Washington embassy states that holders of US visitor visas are not eligible to apply. Tourist applications filed there require the approval of the Minister of the Interior.

Each mission publishes its own fee. In Washington a single-entry visa costs USD 90 and a multiple-entry visa USD 180, for every visa type; payment is by money order only, the fee is not refunded if the visa is refused, and a prepaid return envelope is required for postal applications. Processing there can take up to 21 business days.

Transit visas follow the same model: the Washington embassy asks for the same basic documents plus a cruise confirmation or an airline ticket proving the transit.

Visa-exempt visitors who intend to stay longer than 90 days should request permission to extend their stay at the police station nearest their address in Tunisia, before the 90 days end. Visa holders should first check the length of stay written in their visa.

If the reason for staying is lasting, such as a job, studies, marriage or retirement, the document to request is the residence card (carte de séjour), filed with the National Security services on the Ministry of the Interior's 'visa - residence card' form. The higher education ministry warns students that filing after the legal stay has ended leaves them in an irregular situation with penalties.