Immigration
ECOWAS free movement, complicated by Mali's announced withdrawal from ECOWAS
Mali has historically applied the ECOWAS free movement Protocol, admitting community nationals for 90 days visa-free. Mali announced withdrawal from ECOWAS in 2024 alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, forming the Alliance of Sahel States, which puts the future of that regime in doubt.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Direction Générale de la Police Nationale issues residence permits.
- Deadline — Carte de séjour: within three months of arrival
- Deadline — ECOWAS 90-day visa-free entry: status subject to the withdrawal process
Governing law
- Loi n° 04-058 relative aux conditions d'entrée, de séjour et d'établissement des étrangers
- ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons 1979
- Traité portant création de la Confédération des États du Sahel2024
In practice
The 2024 announcement by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger of withdrawal from ECOWAS is the most consequential development in West African mobility law in decades, because the free movement Protocol is an ECOWAS instrument. The three states have said they will maintain mutual free movement within the Alliance, but the position of their nationals in remaining ECOWAS states, and vice versa, is unsettled.