Kiribati → Gambia: Short-stay tourist

Download the visa application form from the Gambian embassy's website (free) and fill it in fully, with all relevant documents and justifications attached. The Brussels embassy says processing takes at least 48 hours and advises submitting your application at least 10 working days before you travel.

Source: Embassy of The Gambia in Brussels

Valid for at least six months, with at least two blank visa pages for the visa to be endorsed.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

If you're not exempt you need a tourist visa (code GMB1): a single-entry visa for people who travel to The Gambia on their own initiative for tourism on commercial flights. Apply at a Gambian embassy, high commission or consulate abroad. The policy also lets certain passport holders get a visa on arrival at a recognised port of entry but doesn't say which nationalities. Where there is no Gambian embassy or consulate for you, and you aren't exempt, entry clearance (see below) is used instead.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

Your personal and passport details, purpose of visit, approximate date and point of entry, the hotel or inviting person and your intended address in The Gambia, your financial means, any previous visits and contacts in The Gambia, plus a space for your photo. You sign a declaration that any false statement will lead to your application being rejected or a visa already granted being annulled.

Source: Embassy of The Gambia in Brussels

The government portal says travellers pay a US$20 (D1,000) security fee on arrival and again on departure at the airport, in cash (US dollars or dalasi). The Immigration Department lists the same amount as a Securiport fee, exempts minors aged 2 or under and diplomats, and notes the airport fee is not mandated by the department itself.

Source: Government of The Gambia

Evidence that you have enough money to cover your tourism expenses in The Gambia.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

The application form's declaration says the visa fee is non-refundable. None of the official pages we read publishes the amount, so ask the Gambian mission where you apply for the current fee.

Source: Embassy of The Gambia in Brussels

A short-visit visa is for a bona fide tourist or businessperson, not someone seeking or planning to take up work in The Gambia. You should be a regular resident of the country where you apply, and your intended stay must not exceed 90 days in total; longer stays are referred to the Director General of Immigration.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department

A hotel reservation, or the full address and contact details of the person you'll stay with in The Gambia. For visits to family or friends, the policy's single-entry visa conditions also ask for an invitation letter from your host, with a copy of their national document or residence permit.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

On arrival you fill in a disembarkation card and are enrolled in the Integrated Immigration Control System: your fingerprints, iris and the data page of your passport.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department

The Gambia Immigration Department's visa policy says some groups don't need a visa: African Union, ECOWAS and Commonwealth citizens, UAE and Turkish citizens, EU/Schengen, UK and Swiss citizens, Nordic, Baltic and Balkan states, and tourists on chartered flights and tour operators. It calls the exemption "guided by certain entry conditions", and the department's own website list (gid.gov.gm/visa) still shows a visa or an entry clearance for many of those nationalities. That includes 14 European nationalities the policy names as visa-free but the list shows as needing a visa: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. If you're seeing this checklist, we couldn't confirm your passport is exempt. If your country is on the policy's list, ask a Gambian embassy or the Immigration Department before you book, and if you're on a package trip with a charter flight, ask your tour operator.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

Entry clearance is a permission issued before you travel. The policy says it covers foreign nationals who aren't visa-exempt where there is no Gambian embassy or consulate, and your host in The Gambia must take on immigration responsibility in a prescribed form before it's issued. The Brussels embassy's FAQ says the host writes to the Director General of Immigration, signs an Immigration Responsibility form and provides ID or business registration documents, with a copy of your passport attached; you must be outside The Gambia at the time, the fee is D3,000 (non-refundable) and at least 7 days' notice should be given. Carry a copy of the approved clearance (valid for 30 days for entry); your host presents the original on or before your arrival.

Source: Embassy of The Gambia in Brussels

The Immigration Department's short-visit visa page requires a return ticket, or cash equal to the cost of one, or an onward ticket out of The Gambia, together with adequate funds to support yourself while you're there.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department

The Government of The Gambia's portal says that where there is no Gambian diplomatic representative you can get the entry visa at Banjul International Airport on arrival, and that tourists on last-minute bookings will be allowed in but must hand their passport to the Immigration Department in Banjul within 48 hours to be issued a proper visa. None of the pages we read names the nationalities that qualify or the fee.

Source: Government of The Gambia

A medical certificate confirming you're free from communicable diseases and deemed mentally fit by medical authorities at any port of entry.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

You must not be in the category of prohibited immigrants. The sources don't define the term, so ask the mission where you apply if you think it might affect you.

Source: Gambia Immigration Department (visa policy text, published by the High Commission of The Gambia in Senegal)

The Brussels embassy says the form must be filled in with all relevant documents and justifications attached, but none of the official pages we could read lists every supporting document beyond the tourist-visa conditions in this checklist. Ask the Gambian mission where you're applying exactly what it wants to see.

Source: Embassy of The Gambia in Brussels

The Government of The Gambia's portal says all visitors need a valid passport and evidence of yellow fever vaccination, and separately that the certificate is required for travellers aged 9 months or over arriving from (or who have spent more than 12 hours in transit through) a country with yellow fever risk. The Immigration Department also lists international health certificates among the entry requirements.

Source: Government of The Gambia