Mauritania Reciprocity Schedule


Visa Classification Fee Number of Applications Validity Period
A-1 None Multiple 24 Months
A-2 None Multiple 12 Months
A-3 [1] None Multiple 12 Months
B-1 None Multiple 60 Months
B-2 None Multiple 60 Months
B-1/B-2 None Multiple 60 Months
C-1 None Two 3 Months
C-1/D N/A N/A N/A
C-2 None Two 3 Months
C-3 None Two 3 Months
D None Multiple 6 Months
E-1 [2] No Treaty N/A N/A
E-2 [2] No Treaty N/A N/A
F-1 None Multiple 60 Months
F-2 None Multiple 60 Months
G-1 None Multiple 24 Months
G-2 None Multiple 24 Months
G-3 None Multiple 24 Months
G-4 None Multiple 24 Months
G-5 [1] None Multiple 12 Months
H-1B None Multiple 60 Months [3]
H-1C None Multiple 60 Months [3]
H-2A None Multiple 60 Months [3]
H-2B None Multiple 60 Months [3]
H-2R None Multiple 60 Months [3]
H-3 None Multiple 18 Months [3]
H-4 None Multiple 60 Months [3]
I None Multiple 12 Months
J-1 [4] None Multiple 60 Months
J-2 [4] None Multiple 60 Months
K-1 None One 6 Months
K-2 None One 6 Months
K-3 None Multiple 24 Months
K-4 None Multiple 24 Months
L-1 None Multiple 24 Months [3]
L-2 None Multiple 24 Months [3]
M-1 None Multiple 48 Months
M-2 None Multiple 48 Months
N-8 None Multiple 12 Months
N-9 None Multiple 12 Months
NATO 1-7 N/A N/A N/A
O-1 None Multiple 24 Months [3]
O-2 None One 3 Months [3]
O-3 None Multiple 24 Months [3]
P-1 None Multiple 12 Months [3]
P-2 None Multiple 12 Months [3]
P-3 None Multiple 12 Months [3]
P-4 None Multiple 12 Months [3]
Q-1 [6] None Multiple 12 Months [3]
R-1 None Multiple 12 Months
R-2 None Multiple 12 Months
S-5 [7] None One 1 Month
S-6 [7] None One 1 Month
S-7 [7] None One 1 Month
T-1 [9] N/A N/A N/A
T-2 None One 6 Months
T-3 None One 6 Months
T-4 None One 6 Months
T-5 None One 6 Months
TD [5] N/A N/A N/A
V-1 None Multiple 120 Months
V-2 None Multiple 120 Months [8]
V-3 None Multiple 120 Months [8]

Documents

As Mauritania is a young country and some of its population is still nomadic, it occasionally occurs that no records exist with regard to a particular applicant. In such a case, the cadi or local court (tribunal) can issue an extrait de Jugement d'acte de (birth, marriage, death, etc.). The name and address of the person in question must be furnished, and also the names of two witnesses of the event in question, who may be summoned in case there has been no previous registration. This document may replace a birth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate, or divorce certificate.

In many areas in southern Mauritania, a birth may be confirmed by obtaining an extract (extrait) of the census book (cahier de recensement), that was taken each year under the colonial administration (until l958), and which recorded the local population by tribe, faction, and family. If resort must be had to this record.

Mauritania is not part of the CFA Franc region. There is a local currency, the Ouguiya (UM), which has an official exchange rate of roughly 220 UM to 1 USD. CFA cannot be used to obtain prison records, marriage certificates, or other official documents, as indicated in the revised Appendix.

Birth Certificates

Available. A birth certificate (extrait d'acte de naissance) may be obtained from the Mayor (maire) of the commune in which the applicant was born, if he was born within a commune. Otherwise, the document may be obtained from the cadi (Islamic judge) of the place where he was born, or if there is no cadi, from the Commandant du Cercle of the cercle (administrative district) where he was born. The Mayor will charge the commune tax applicable in that particular commune, otherwise the service is free.

Marriage Certificates

Available. A marriage certificate (extrait d'acte de mariage) attesting the marriage of nationals may be obtained from the Cadi of the place where the marriage occurred. A marriage certificate attesting the marriage of non-nationals (non-Moslem ceremonies) may be obtained from the Commandant du Cercle of the administrative district where the marriage took place.

Divorce Certificates

Available. A divorce certificate (extrait d'acte de divorce) may be obtained in the case of nationals from the cadi of the place where the marriage occurred. In the case of non-nationals or nationals not married in Mauritania, it will be necessary to obtain a copy of the Divorce Judgment (Jugement de Divorce) from the cadi or Clerk (Greffier) of the Court where the divorce was granted. By law, divorce judgments are registered (1) at the place of marriage, and (2) at the birthplace of each spouse

Death Certificates

Available. A death certificate (Extrait d'acte de Deces) may be obtained from the Mayor (Maire) of the commune where the death took place. If the death occurred outside a commune, the certificate may be obtained from the cadi of the place where the death occurred, or, if there is no cadi, from the Commandant du Cercle of the administrative district where the death occurred. A variable commune tax is charged if the death took place in a commune.

Police Records

Available. Ordinarily, the court record, which includes felony convictions, should be sufficient. However, a police record (fichier de police) may be obtained at the police station of residence.

A court record (extrait de casier judiciaire) may be obtained from the Tribunal Penal in the administrative region where the applicant was born. A fee of 120 Ouguiya is required for the service and it normally takes no more than 24 hours to process the request.

Police and court records are indexed by name, but records are not automated. This, combined with wide variations in spelling makes name-checks somewhat unreliable. The recently-begun transition to a machine-readable national identity card may help to resolve this problem.

There are frequent indications or reports of corruption among civil registry or court personnel. It is widely believed that anyone with a criminal record can obtain a clean report using well-placed payoffs.

Prison Records

Available. A prison record (extrait de casier judiciaire) may be obtained from the Clerk of Court (Greffe du Tribunal) in the applicant's place of birth.

Military Records

Available. A military record (livret militaire individual) may be obtained from the Chef de l'Etat Major National at Nouakchott. Military service is legally required of all male Mauritanian citizens, but the law is not rigidly enforced because of the abundance of volunteers.

Special Clearance and Issuance Procedures

None.

Visa Issuing Posts

Nouakchott, Mauritania (Embassy)

Street Address:
Located between the Presidency Building and the Spanish Embassy.

Postal Address:
B.P. 222 Nouakchott

Tel: (222) 25-26-60, 25-26-63, 25-11-41, or 25-11-45.

Fax: (222) 25-15-92

Dakar, Senegal (Embassy)

Visa Services

Nonimmigrant Visas for all of Mauritania. Immigrant visa applications for nationals of Mauritania are processed by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.