Visa requirements for Malagasy citizens

Malagasy citizens need a Schengen visa, which covers all member states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Of the 198 countries whose entry rules are known in both directions, Madagascar and 56 of them let each other’s citizens in without a visa obtained in advance (visa-free, on arrival or with an ETA; an e-visa counts as a visa).

140 countries ask holders of the Malagasy passport for a visa beforehand, although their own citizens enter Madagascar without one: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina and 135 others.

The reverse holds for 1 country: holders of the Malagasy passport get in without a visa obtained in advance, but its citizens need one for Madagascar (Burundi).

94 countries ask holders of the Malagasy passport for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 13 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in Madagascar.

81 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in Madagascar, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country. Counting the post an official diplomatic list names for Madagascar, or else the nearest one within 2,000 km, those posts are most often in Tanzania (3), Malawi (2) and South Africa (2).

The United States refused 17% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of Madagascar in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 59 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 137 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Schengen consulates in Madagascar refused 30% of short-stay visa applications in 2025 (all Schengen consulates worldwide: 15%). Among the 74 countries where they received at least 10,000 applications, that is the 24th highest rate. The figure counts every nationality applying there, not only citizens.

Visa-free travel with the Malagasy passport

By continent, the Malagasy passport is visa-free in 13 countries in Africa, 11 countries in the Americas, 4 countries in Asia and 1 country in Oceania. The longest visa-free stays for Malagasy citizens are allowed in Antigua and Barbuda (180 days), El Salvador (180 days), Barbados (90 days), Benin (90 days), Ecuador (90 days) and the Gambia (90 days).

Visa on arrival

Malagasy citizens can get a visa at the airport or land border of Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, the Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia and 20 others.

E-Visa and electronic travel authorisation

An e-Visa, applied for online before the trip, is how Malagasy citizens enter Albania, Australia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana and 40 others. Ivory Coast and Suriname ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

How the passport compares

Of the 198 passports in the data, 196 get a visa on arrival, 1 need a visa from an embassy or consulate and 1 is not admitted for Madagascar.