Mali visa - is point of entry important?

[donncha]

The application form for the Mali visa asks for "indication of place of entry".
Can anyone say if the officials are fussy about this at the RIM/Mali border?
ie. do they put this information on the visa, and is it a problem if you then enter by a different route.

Thanks

Denis

[Quintin]

Hi there. I've looked at my old Mali visas and none of them have any indication of the point of entry (or exit either). Mind you, the copy visa form I have doesn't have a question about point of entry either. All it asks is places you intend to visit once in Mali (and this is transfered onto your visa). It also asks where you intend to go when you leave Mali. So unless anyone else knows better, I wouldn't worry about it.

All the best

Q

[donncha]

thanks Quintin, i won't worry about it so

denis

[roamingyak]

No, they couldn't give a toss ;-) The friendly chap who gave me my visa in Nouakchott indicated as such.

Though if you don't have a Carnet and enter through a small border post that doesn't do paperwork then you are open to being asked for large sums of money when you do get into Kayes or Bamako for the Lassier Passage etc

Paitence and sheer bloody mindness is required ;-) I'm in Mali at the moment so feel free to ask any questions.

Oh, and get your insurance for mali etc in Nouakchott, it's cheaper. Ask at Auberge Sahara and the insurance guy will pop out on his moto.

[kaspars]

hi all,
there was information of possibility to get Mali visa on the border somewhere there. I just returned from Mali, and, arriving from Mauri at Nera border post, we didnt had a visa. We were told, yes, its possible to get visa at the border, but they didnt had the visas as such to issue! But without problems, and for a small fee we got our entry stamp, and were allowed to proceed, and from now on nobody seemed to care. But, once in Bamako, we headed to 'securite', where without probs we got our visas for 15000 CFA (20 EUR), 2 photos required, 24 hours.
Hope it helps.

[donncha]

Thanks Kaspars

That's good to know - especially as we just had a passport returned sans visa from the Mali embassy in Paris.
It seems they were not happy with means of payment (a cheque in euro from an Irish bank) as a note says 'cheque non conforme' .

Denis

[sebm]

The policeman of Kayes who checked in our passports told me he was able to deliver visa for 15000 CFA.

Séb M

[roamingyak]

You don't need to get a visa before you arrive, but it makes things easier and they only take a few hours to get in Noakchott. Mali is very relaxed about such things. In 2 months nobody ever asked to see my vehicle document and I only showed my passport to 1 policeman in Sevare the whole time I was there ( I did refuse a few times though and they were happy enough about this when I told them my (adopted) Malian name - they kinda insist you have one - use Saidu Sissoko to avoid bean jokes).

Kayes is pretty crap for doing paperwork - the customs and police. If you have a carnet and visa its no problem - its FREE to get them stamped. And FREE to have the vehicle document extended by 2 months (I did this in 2 mins in Bamako - go to the head of Customs to do it).

Else if going via the south piste do it all in Bamako. At the borders they are greedy.