Mauritania Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into Mauritania.
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Guide
Mauritania closed the door on visa on arrival entirely. Before 2025, holders of any passport could get a visa on arrival at Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport or any land border, but as of 5 January 2025, every visa-required nationality must secure an e-Visa before boarding their flight, and since June 2025, Mauritanian embassies no longer issue visas directly at all, instead redirecting applicants to the online e-Visa system. The fee is 55 euros or 60 US dollars, and despite the online application process, it is actually paid on arrival, in exact cash, in euros or US dollars, not online at the time of applying.
A passport needs more than six months of validity from your arrival date, and a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required specifically for travelers coming from a country where yellow fever is a risk, not a blanket rule for every visitor.
Border crossings
- Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport
Mauritania's main gateway, where the approved e-Visa is checked and the fee collected in exact cash, no visa on arrival option remains here despite older guides describing one.
Transit routes
- Apply for the e-Visa before you book your flight, not after
With the on-arrival option gone and embassies no longer issuing visas directly, this is now the only route in for nationalities that need one.
- Bring exact cash in euros or dollars
The fee is paid on arrival despite the online application, and exact change is specifically mentioned, worth having the precise amount rather than expecting change to be given.
Entry point notes
- This is a genuinely recent and significant change
An older source describing Mauritania as offering visa on arrival to any nationality is describing a policy that ended in January 2025.
- Yellow fever depends on your routing, not a blanket rule
Only required for travelers arriving from an at-risk country.