FACTSHEET: Gambia in the World of Travel – Visas and Exemptions

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Image taken from VisaIndex.Com

By Louise S. A. Alsan (@AlsanLouise)

In 2022, we published a Factsheet on 70 destinations that Gambians can travel to without a visa.

This new Factsheet goes further to explain not only the number of countries that Gambians can travel to without a visa, or with a visa before traveling or upon arrival, and eVisas, but also travel requirements for other nationalities around the world wanting to visit the “Smiling Coast of Africa”

The Gambian passport is currently ranked at 74th in the world, according to visaindex.com, which is operated by Guide Consultants LLC, a global leader in economic citizenship and residency by investment programs. Our Passport provides visa-free access to 46 destinations worldwide.

Holders of a Gambian passport can travel visa-free to popular tourist destinations like the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, and Senegal.

However, the 2024 Passport Index, the original interactive passport ranking tool in the world, Gambia’s passport is ranked 73 in the world with 46 visa-free destinations, 27 visa-on-arrival destinations, and 125 countries for which Gambians require a prior visa to visit.

The Gambian Passport takes you to 46 countries without a visa, to 21 other countries where holders are given a visa upon arrival, and 2 countries an electronic travel authorisation (eTA)

Here’s a list of visa-free countries for Gambian passport holders based on Passport Index:

Visa Free Countries for Gambians:

1.    Bahamas 2.    Bangladesh 3.    Barbados 4.    Belize
5.    Benin 6.    Botswana 7.    British Virgin Islands 8.    Burkina Faso
9.    Cape Verde 10. Cook Islands 11. Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 12. Dominica
13. Eswatini 14. Fiji 15. Ghana 16. Grenada
17. Guinea 18. Guinea-Bissau 19. Haiti 20. Jamaica
21. Kiribati 22. Lesotho 23. Liberia 24. Malawi
25. Malaysia 26. Mali 27. Mauritania 28. Mauritius
29. Micronesia 30. Montserrat 31. Niger 32. Nigeria
33. Philippines 34. Rwanda 35. Saint Kitts and Nevis 36. Senegal
37. Sierra Leone 38. Singapore 39. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 40. Suriname
41. Tanzania 42. Togo 43. Trinidad and Tobago 44. Tunisia
45. Uganda 46. Vanuatu

 

Visa on Arrival for Gambians:

The Visa Index website now lists 21 visa-on-arrival-destinations for Gambian passport holders. It’s important to note that visa on arrival policies can change, so be sure to check with the embassy or consulate of your destination country for the latest requirements.

1.    Bolivia 2.    Burundi 3.    Cambodia 4.    Comoros
5.    Djibouti 6.    Ethiopia 7.    Laos 8.    Macao
9.    Madagasca 10. Maldives 11. Mozambique 12. Namibia
13. Nepal 14. Nicaragua 15. Niue 16. Palau
17. Saint Lucia 18. Samoa 19. Seychelles 20. Timor-Leste
21. Tuvalu 22. 23. 24.

 

Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA):

There are currently two destinations requiring an eTA for Gambian passport holders.

  1. Sri Lanka
  2. Kenya

On the other hand, Gambia passport holders need to apply for physical visa or eVisa to enter into 160 countries.

One could notice that there has been a significant change since our last publication in 2022 as Free Visa Destination has increased from 40 to 46, while Visa on Arrival has reduced from 29 to 21 destination, eTA from 1 to 2.

Travel Requirements for Other Nationals

According to the Gambia Embassy in Belgium which oversees several EU Countries, nationals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) do not need a visa to enter The Gambia for a period of ninety (90) days when in possession of a valid travel document and an international health certificate.

ECOWAS Member States:

  1. Benin
  2. Burkina Faso
  3. Cabo Verde
  4. Cote D’Ivoire
  5. Ghana
  6. Guinea
  7. Guinea Bissau
  8. Liberia
  9. Mali
  10. Niger
  11. Nigeria
  12. Senegal
  13. Sierra Leone
  14. Togo
  15. [The Gambia]

Eighteen (18) countries are exempted from visa requirements when visiting The Gambia for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days.

Countries that are exempted from Visa Requirement:

  1. Australia
  2. Belgium
  3. Canada
  4. Finland
  5. Germany
  6. Iceland
  7. Indonesia
  8. Italy
  9. Luxemburg
  10. Morocco
  11. Poland
  12. Russia
  13. San Marino
  14. Spain
  15. Sweden
  16. The Netherlands
  17. Tunisia
  18. United Kingdom

Countries that need both Visa and Clearance:

Nationals of seventy-nine (79) countries on the list below need a Visa and Clearance to visit The Gambia.

  Africa Europe Asia & The Middle East The Americas & The Caribbeans
1 Algeria 1.     Albania 1.     Afghanistan 1.     Bahamas
2 Angola 2.     Balarus 2.     Armenia 2.     Bolivia
3 Botswana 3.     Bosnia 3.     Azerbaijan 3.     Chile
4 Burundi 4.     Bulgaria 4.     Bahrain 4.     Bermuda
5 Cameroon 5.     Croatia 5.     Bangladesh 5.     Colombia
6 Central African Republic 6.     Estonia 6.     Bhutan 6.     Haiti
7 Chad 7.     Georgia 7.     Brunei
8 Comoros Island 8.     Lithuania 8.     Cambodia
9 Congo 9.     Macedonia 9.     China
10 D.R Congo 10.  Maldova 10.  India
11 Djibouti 11.  Serbia 11.  Iran
12 Egypt 12.  Slovakia 12.  Iraq
13 Equatorial Guinea 13.  Slovenia 13.  Israel
14 Eritrea 14.  Ukraine 14.  Japan
15 Ethiopia 15.  Jordan
16 Gabon 16.  Kazakhstan
17 Libya 17.  Kuwait
18 Madagascar 18.  Kyrgyzstan
19 Rwanda 19.  Laos
20 Mozambique 20.  Lebanon
21 Somalia 21.  Mongolia
22 South Africa 22.  Myanmar
23 South Sudan 23.  Nepal
24 Sudan 24.  North Korea
25.  Oman
26.  Pakistan
27.  Palestine
28.  Qatar
29.  Saudi Arabia
30.  Syria
31.  Tajikistan
32.  Turkmenistan
33.  United Arab Emirates
34.  Uzbekistan
35.  Yemen

 

Nationals of thirty-two (32) countries need only a visa to enter Gambia

  Africa Europe Americans & The Caribbeans Australia & The Pacific
1 Eswatini 1.    Andorra 1.    Argentina 1.    Flores
2 Zambia 2.    Austria 2.    Belize 2.    Lombok
3.    Czech Republic 3.    Brazil 3.    Melanesia
4.    France 4.    Costa Rico 4.    New Caledonia
5.    Liechtenstein 5.    Cuba 5.    New Guinea
6.    Malta 6.    Mexico 6.    New Zealand
7.    Portugal 7.    Nicaragua 7.    Sulawesi
8.    Switzerland 8.    Panama 8.    Sumbawa
9.    Hungary 9.    United States of America 9.    Tasmania
10. Romania 10. Timor
11. Greece

 

Countries that need only clearance

Also, there are thirty-four (34) countries that only needs Clearance to visit The Gambia.

 

  Africa Asia & The Middle East The Americas & The Caribbean
1 Kenya 1.     East Timor 1.     Antigua & Barbuda
2 Malawi 2.     Indonesia 2.     Barbados
3 Mauritius 3.     Malaysia 3.     Anguilla
4 Nambia 4.     Maldives 4.     Aruba
5 Sao Tome & Principe 5.     Philippines 5.     Dominican Republic
6 Seychelles 6.     Singapore 6.     Ecuador
7 Tanzania 7.     South Korea 7.     El Salvador
8 Tunisia 8.     Sri Lanka 8.     Grenada
9 Uganda 9.     Thailand 9.     Guyana
10 Zimbabwe 10.  Vietnam 10.  Honduras
11.  Jamaica
12.  St. Kitts & Nevis
13.  St Lucia
14.  St Vincent & Grenadines
15.  Suriname
16.  Trinidad & Tobago
17.  Uruguay
18.  Venezuela
19.  Cayman Island
20.  Guadalupe
21.  Martinique
22.  Montserrat
23.  Netherland Antilles
24.  Puerto Rico

 

 

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