MADAMAGAZINE Your Magazine about Madagascar
Where do you go in the airport?
Those who arrive in Madagascar for the first time should follow the others into the airport building. There, one has to sort oneself in the right way: Those who already have a visa have to queue at the “Avec visa” queue for their entry stamp. Those who do not have a visa yet have to buy one directly at the airport and therefore join the “Non-Visa” or “sans Visa” queue. The latter leads first to a counter where the visa fee is paid and then to the actual counter where the visa is issued. Don’t worry, it’s all very simple and self-explanatory.
For all visas, you get either directly at the airport Ivato (Antananarivo) or already at the transfer airport before a multi-page paper that has to be filled out completely. Information such as planned length of stay, occupation, and home address is required. This small visa application form is handed in at the airport Ivato in Tana at the corresponding counter. The address of the planned accommodation in Antananarivo is information that one should inform oneself about in advance of the trip. Travellers simply use the first hotel in which they will stay.
Visas for 15, 30, 60, or 90 days stay
The visa for a stay of maximum of 15 days is free of charge, only a processing fee of 10 € has to be paid. A visa for a maximum stay of 30 days costs 115,000 Ariary or 35 €. You can get it at the visa counter at Ivato Airport in Antananarivo upon entry. The visa for a stay of up to 60 days costs 135,000 Ariary or 40 €, which can also be obtained directly at the airport. All visas can be paid for in euros or dollars.
Visas for longer stays or business trips must be applied for at the Malagasy consulate in the traveller’s home country before arrival. To do this, send the completed form (available for download here) of the visa application together with the passport, copy of the flight ticket, two passport photos, a passport copy and the visa fee to the consulate and the passport will be returned with a valid visa for the desired travel period. The visa for a stay of up to 90 days costs 140,000 Ariary or €45.
Declaration of health
With the little paper that you have to fill out for a visa, you get a very small piece of paper that says “Fiche individuelle de déclaration sanitaire”. This is about the introduction of diseases such as yellow fever, which does not yet exist in Madagascar. Temperature checks are also carried out sporadically at Ivato airport. You have to fill in this form and hand it in at the same counter where you pay for your visa.
