Destination Senegal: this guide takes you, in order, through what to do to study there on your own. You will find studies and admission, visa and residence permit, health insurance, housing, budget and funds, on arrival and working while you study, and every fact links to its official page.
Getting into a Senegalese university
If you hold a secondary-school leaving certificate (baccalauréat) from outside Senegal and want to enter Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), your application goes only through Campusen, the higher education ministry's online platform that assigns new school-leavers to universities.
Dates change every year. For 2026, Campusen stated that applications from holders of a foreign baccalauréat were open until midnight on 27 October 2026. Watch the platform for the next round.
UCAD says it is open to all students with the required qualifications, whatever their nationality, within the limit of available places. If your diploma comes from another system, you can submit an equivalence request (official recognition of your diploma) online on UCAD's platform.
For a private institution, first check on the website of ANAQ-Sup, the public quality-assurance authority, that the institution is authorised (habilité) and the programme accredited. Rules at Université Gaston Berger (UGB) could not be confirmed: ask the university directly.
- Create your Campusen account and submit your application with your programme choices there
- If you are shortlisted, provide the originals or certified copies of the documents you uploaded
- If needed, request recognition of your diploma at equivalence.ucad.sn
- For a private school, check its authorisation on the ANAQ-Sup website
Visa: what depends on your nationality
According to Senegal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nationals of certain countries do not need a visa for a stay of less than 3 months. They need a passport (or travel pass) valid for at least 6 months. African countries listed include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Congo (Brazzaville), Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Togo and Tunisia.
If your country is not on the list, you need a visa to enter Senegal. People travelling on a refugee travel document also need a visa. The procedure (type of student visa, cost, processing time) could not be confirmed on an official website: contact the Senegalese embassy or consulate in your country.
For citizens of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States: Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, according to the list published by ECOWAS), the free movement protocol allows visa-free entry for up to 90 days. Beyond that, you must ask the authorities for an extension of stay. ECOWAS has decided to remove the 90-day limit, but stated in 2024 that this decision had not yet been implemented.
Your studies will last more than 3 months, so the visa exemption alone does not cover the whole period. See the Arrival section about the residence permit.
Where are you from? Do you need a visa?
The rule depends on the country of your passport. Choose it to see the answer that applies to you.
The rules for each group of countries
| Nationalities | Visa | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
These nationalities:Show the 11 countriesBenin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo | No visa | No visa to enter Senegal: as an ECOWAS citizen, you enter with a passport (or travel pass) valid for at least 6 months and may stay 90 days. Beyond that, ask the Senegalese authorities for an extension of stay; for the length of your studies, ask the Senegalese embassy and your university about the residence card (carte de résident). |
These nationalities:Show the 48 countriesAustria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Congo - Brazzaville, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States | No visa | No visa to enter Senegal for a stay of under 3 months: a passport (or travel pass) valid for at least 6 months is enough. As your studies last longer, ask the Senegalese embassy and your university how to get the residence card (carte de résident) once you are there. |
All nationalities except:Show the 59 countriesAustria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, China, Congo - Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States | Visa required | A visa is required to enter Senegal, including with a refugee travel document. Apply at the Senegalese embassy or consulate in your country: the type of visa for studies, its cost and processing times could not be confirmed on an official website. |
Health insurance and vaccines
None of the official Senegalese pages consulted states that health insurance is mandatory for foreign students. Ask your university or the Senegalese embassy whether insurance is required.
France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in its Senegal travel advice (written for French travellers), considers essential an insurance policy covering medical costs, hospital stays and medical repatriation (being flown home for health reasons). This advice applies to you too.
On vaccines, the same page states that since 9 March 2026, proof of vaccination is no longer required to enter Senegal for people coming from countries without an epidemic. The yellow fever vaccine remains recommended. Check the rule for your country before you leave.
Housing: university halls and renting in town
In Dakar, UCAD's on-campus rooms are managed by COUD (Centre des œuvres universitaires de Dakar), the body in charge of students' living conditions. Its website was unavailable on 30 October 2026, so access conditions for foreign students and prices could not be confirmed.
In public universities, beds are allocated through codification, the room allocation done at the start of each year. At Université Alioune Diop de Bambey, for example, the social service allocates beds based on exam credits, and housed students pay 3,000 CFA francs per month (amount shown on the official website as of 30 October 2026).
Places are limited. Plan for housing in town as well, and contact your university's social service as soon as you are admitted.
Enrolment fees by country
Enrolment fees (paid each year to the university) at public universities are set by a higher education ministry order dated 15 January 2015, published on UCAD's website. The amount depends on your nationality.
Rate 1: Senegalese students, nationals of WAEMU/UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union), Guinea, Mauritania, Gambia, Cabo Verde, Comoros, Haiti, and countries with an agreement with Senegal (the text names Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan): 25,000 CFA francs a year for a bachelor's (licence), 50,000 for a master's, 75,000 for a doctorate.
Rate 2: nationals of other countries with no cooperation agreement with Senegal: 200,000 CFA francs a year for a bachelor's, 400,000 for a master's, 1,000,000 for a doctorate. These amounts date from 2015: check with the university that they still apply.
The cost of living (housing in town, meals, transport) could not be confirmed from an official source. Private schools set their own fees.
On arrival: customs, residence card and enrolment
When entering Senegal, if you carry foreign currency worth more than one million CFA francs, you must declare it in writing at customs.
For a stay of more than 3 months, France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs states (for its own nationals) that a residence card (carte de résident) is mandatory. It is applied for in Senegal, at the Directorate of Foreigners' Police and Travel Documents. No official Senegalese page on this could be consulted: ask the Senegalese embassy and your university for the exact procedure, documents and deadlines.
At UCAD, you complete your enrolment in person at your faculty's registrar's office. Nobody can enrol on your behalf. Once enrolled, you receive your student card, valid for the year.
- Passport valid for at least 6 months (and a visa if your country is not exempt)
- Receipt for payment of enrolment fees
- Certified copies of your baccalauréat certificate and transcript
- Recent passport photo
- Residence permit application at the foreigners' police (procedure to be confirmed)
Working during your studies
The rules on whether a foreign student may work in Senegal could not be confirmed from an official source. Before accepting a job, check with the Ministry of Labour and the foreigners' police.
UCAD offers a special study arrangement (régime spécial d'études) for students in paid work of more than 20 hours a week. You must provide a contract or a certificate from the employer. This does not say whether a foreign student is allowed to work.
Other destinations
The same path, on your own, in the other countries GradMe covers: compare before you choose.