The e-Visa
Keep it with the passport it was issued for and use it before its validity runs out.
🇲🇱Short-visit visa guide for Malian passport holders
Singapore Visa for Malian Citizens
Travellers on a passport issued by Mali must have a Singapore visa approved before the journey. Because many Malian records are written in French, ICA’s translation rule matters from the start, and a letter of introduction is part of the core file. This guide covers both, plus name accents, applying from Bamako or abroad, and arrival.
From $130 USD
Price per applicant
Each traveller pays one US dollar figure that bundles the visa fee charged by the government with our service charge.
5–7 working days · 3–5 days
Handling speed
Normal and express estimates for our work, listed apart from ICA’s processing time.
Number of entries
Request single, double or multiple entry; the decision on what is issued rests with Singapore.
French-language records
Each record that is not in English needs an official English translation under ICA’s rule.
How ICA treats a passport issued by Mali
Mali is one of the countries on ICA’s visa-required list. The rule follows the travel document, so anyone presenting a passport issued by Mali needs a Singapore visa approved in advance, whatever the purpose of a short trip.
ICA’s Mali page does not exempt any passport category. Diplomatic, official and service passports are not mentioned, so holders of those documents should check with ICA rather than travel on an assumption.
The language of supporting records is the main practical issue to plan for. Malian birth and marriage certificates, employment letters and bank documents are typically in French, and ICA requires an official English translation of anything not in English, submitted with the original and copies for ICA.
We prepare the application, check each translation against its original, and lodge it through an accepted channel. The Singapore authorities alone decide whether to issue the visa and whether to admit you.
What we take care of
French-to-English checks
Each translation is compared with the French original for completeness, names and dates.
Accents and spellings
Names with accents, such as Traoré or Keïta, are matched to the exact form printed in the passport.
The letter of introduction
We verify that Form V39A agrees with your application before anything is lodged.
Submission and follow-up
The file is lodged through an accepted route and the result is emailed to you.
Allow time for the two things that depend on others: official translations of French records and the letter of introduction. With those ready, the remaining items are simple to assemble.
Is this guide right for you?
This page is written for ordinary Malian passport holders planning a short tourist or social visit. The examples show how ICA’s guidance applies; they do not predict any decision.
Living in Bamako, Sikasso, Kayes or elsewhere in Mali
A visa is required, and every section here applies to you.
Malians resident in other countries
A Malian passport holder settled in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, France or elsewhere still needs the visa. Residence only affects the practical choice of mission or agent.
Travellers with a second nationality
If you will travel on a passport from another country, ICA’s guidance for that passport applies instead of this page.
Diplomatic, official and service passports
ICA’s Mali page lists no exemption for any of these categories. Ask ICA before relying on one.
Business visits
When the trip involves business negotiations or discussions, the local contact who signs Form V39A must represent the Singapore-registered company you will meet.
What ICA requires
- Every travel document issued by Mali needs a visa; ICA publishes no exempt category.
- Records in French or any other non-English language need official English translations, with originals and copies for ICA.
- ICA includes Form V39A, which a local contact signs or, as a fallback, your Embassy.
- The passport needs six or more months of validity left on your entry date.
What we add
- A comparison of every translation with its French original.
- A hotel reservation and transport bookings that meet our checklist.
- The prices and estimates set out on this page.
- Our cancellation and refund rules.
These additions make the file clearer to review. They do not change how ICA decides, and they cannot guarantee a visa or admission.
The Malian application checklist
ICA’s own requirements, including its rule on translations, are listed first. Items ICA may request depending on the case follow, and our booking standard, which is not set by ICA, closes the list.
ICA requirement
Form 14A with your signature
ICA considers the application on the strength of what you declare in Form 14A and may ask you to provide the signed form. Keep the original after signing.
ICA requirement
A photograph under three months old
Colour and passport-sized, meeting ICA’s photo guidelines.
ICA requirement
Copy of the passport data page
The identity page with your photograph, taken from a passport that has more than six months to run beyond your entry date.
ICA requirement
Form V39A, letter of introduction
This form is in ICA’s list for Mali. A local contact may sign it if they hold Singapore citizenship or permanent residence, are at least 21 and use Singpass.
When the purpose is business discussions, the introducer must speak for the Singapore-registered company involved. An Embassy-issued letter is ICA’s fallback for applicants who cannot find a local contact, and it applies to both social and business visits.
ICA requirement for non-English records
French records and their translations
An acte de naissance, a marriage certificate, an employment attestation or any other record in French must be submitted as the original with an official English translation. ICA also wants copies it can keep.
For a record issued in Mali, an acceptable translation comes from Mali’s embassy, from a notary public in Mali or Singapore, or from a private translator whose work Mali’s embassy then attests or the notary notarises. No private translation agency is endorsed by ICA.
Case by case · ICA may request
Anything further ICA asks for
ICA can ask for more, and says a file without enough documentation may not be accepted. Extra records in French need translating in the same way.
Our submission standard
Accommodation and onward travel
Our checklist looks for at least three hotel nights, booked at a three-star or better establishment, and for confirmed arrival and departure travel. Staying with a host or in a private rental does not satisfy our hotel standard.
Labelled examples of a passport data page and an acceptable photograph appear on our requirements page.
Open the requirements checklistICA may request more at any point. Having every listed document helps, but it does not decide the application.
Fees for Malian applicants
Prices are shown in US dollars for each applicant. They include the ICA government visa fee and our professional service charge; we do not show the government part separately. Select an entry type and a service speed.
| Requested entry type | Normal service5–7 working days | Express service3–5 days |
|---|---|---|
| Single-entry | $130 USD | $180 USD |
| Double-entry | $140 USD | $190 USD |
| Multiple-entry | $170 USD | $220 USD |
USD per applicant
Understanding the prices
- Two brothers travelling together each pay one applicant price.
- Asking for multiple entry does not oblige the Singapore authorities to grant it.
- The figures are our full service prices. Official translations are obtained separately from the sources ICA accepts.
Timing for Malian applications
Our handling and ICA’s processing are separate stages. Our normal and express estimates cover the first, once all records and translations are with us; ICA’s published time covers the second, from submission. Neither is a fixed date.
Normal service
Our estimate
5–7 working days
Fits applicants whose French records are already translated and whose letter is signed.
Express service
Our estimate
3–5 days
Quicker handling by us, for a higher price. It does not speed up ICA.
ICA’s published time
Three working days from the day after submission, by ICA’s statement, with longer waits in some cases and an individual assessment of each.
Translation lead time
Notarised or embassy-attested translations of French records can take time to arrange. Start them early.
The 30-day advice
ICA suggests applying during the 30 days before you land. Have the file complete before that window opens.
Six steps to a Singapore e-Visa from Mali
Applying from Mali or elsewhere, you have two official channels: an online filing on ICA’s e-Service, which a strategic partner or your Singapore contact makes for you, or a Singapore Overseas Mission, approached in person or through its appointed visa agent according to the mission’s own instructions. Applications at the immigration counter are not accepted. Our sequence:
Step 1
Check your passport
Make sure it is an ordinary Malian passport with six months of validity after your planned arrival.
Step 2
Translate your French records
Decide which records you will include and have each translated into English by a source ICA accepts.
Step 3
Get Form V39A
Ask your local contact or, failing that, your Embassy to provide the letter.
Step 4
Complete Form 14A
Write your names exactly as the passport prints them, accents included where shown.
Step 5
Review, then payment
We check originals, translations, forms and bookings side by side and email you about corrections. The price follows your entry type and service.
Step 6
Submission and approval
Once we have lodged the file, ICA decides. Approval arrives as an e-Visa document that the filing party can print out through ICA’s e-Service.
Keep your originals, translations, e-Visa and our emails in one place you can access on the way.
Apply OnlineChecking a Malian passport and photo
Two of these checks are ICA rules: six months of passport validity and a recent compliant photo. The others are ours.
ICA requirement
Passport
Add six months to your arrival date. If the passport expires before then, renew it first.
Photograph or scan the whole data page clearly, including the machine-readable lines.
Where the passport prints accented letters, such as é or ï, keep them on Form 14A; on bookings that cannot accept accents, keep the rest of the name identical.
ICA requirement
Photograph
In colour, passport-sized and less than three months old, meeting ICA’s photo guidelines, which rule out altered or enhanced images. Our review also covers:
- When it was taken: within three months.
- Background: plain and light.
- Face: uncovered, facing the camera.
- Retouching: none.
- Quality: sharp and evenly lit.
Visa, Visit Pass and arrival in Singapore
A Singapore visa authorises the journey and your request to enter, nothing more. ICA does not regard it as an immigration pass, and the terms of your stay are fixed at the checkpoint.
Your permitted stay
On admission you are emailed an electronic Visit Pass stating how long you may remain; ICA does not link that period to the visa.
Extending the stay
ICA directs visitors who want more time to apply for an extension of their Short-Term Visit Pass.
Passing through
Malian passports are not eligible for the Visa-Free Transit Facility, and we offer no transit option. Get ICA’s view before arranging a connection that involves going landside.
Family applications from Mali
Each family member applies separately, and French family records may need translating once and used in several files.
Individual applications
Every adult and child has their own application, priced as one applicant.
Passports for children
Even infants need a passport of their own. ICA accepts only travel documents issued to one person, never collective documents.
Birth and marriage records
If you include an acte de naissance or a marriage certificate in French, it needs an official English translation, plus the original and copies for ICA.
Consistent details
Each child’s name should match their passport exactly on every form and booking.
Avoidable errors in Malian files
Our pre-submission check focuses on these points. ICA judges every case individually, so the aim is a correct file rather than a guess about the result.
Submitting French without English
French is not English for ICA’s purposes: a French record still needs an official English translation.
Dropped accents or changed spellings
Traoré written as Traore, or Keïta as Keita, can create mismatches. Follow the passport on the forms and keep bookings as close as their systems allow.
Translations from an unaccepted source
A translation that was not made by Mali’s embassy or a notary in Mali or Singapore, and was not attested or notarised by one of them afterwards, does not meet ICA’s rule.
Forgetting copies
ICA asks for copies to retain in addition to originals and translations.
Assuming an exemption
ICA’s Mali page names no exempt passport category. Confirm with ICA before travelling on a non-ordinary passport without a visa.
A letter with different dates
Form V39A should reflect the same travel dates and passport number as the application.
Cancelling a Malian application
The main points of our tourist visa refund rules. Our Refund Policy page gives them in full.
Before submission to ICA
Cancelling before we submit
If you cancel before we submit your application to ICA, a cancellation fee of USD $50 applies per applicant and application.
The fee is deducted from the amount you paid, and the remaining eligible amount is refunded, subject to applicable law.
After submission to ICA
Once the application is submitted
After submission to ICA, the paid visa service fee is non-refundable, subject to applicable law.
A refusal does not by itself make a submitted application refundable.
If you believe a payment was duplicated or charged incorrectly, contact us so that we can review it. Legally required refunds and billing errors are handled separately.
Nothing in these rules limits statutory consumer rights that cannot be waived.
Frequently asked by Malian travellers
Answers for holders of passports issued by Mali, each showing whether it comes from ICA’s published guidance or our own practice.
Do Malian passport holders need a Singapore visa?
Yes. ICA’s Mali page makes the visa compulsory for every Mali-issued travel document and lists no exempt passport type.
Can I submit my documents in French?
Not on their own. ICA requires an official English translation for any document not in English, submitted with the original and copies for ICA.
Where can I get an accepted translation?
For a record issued in Mali, three sources qualify: Mali’s embassy; a notary public based in Mali or Singapore; or a private translator, as long as the embassy later attests the work or such a notary notarises it.
Without a contact in Singapore, how do I get Form V39A?
ICA’s Mali page allows the Embassy to provide the letter of introduction instead, covering social and business visits, if no local contact can be found.
I live in Abidjan. Do I apply differently?
No. The visa rule is the same. From Côte d’Ivoire you can have a strategic partner or local contact file on ICA’s e-Service, or go through whichever Singapore mission is nearest, or its appointed agent.
My booking removed the accent from my name. Is that a problem?
As our own practice, Form 14A carries the passport’s exact spelling. If an airline or hotel system strips the accent, the remaining letters should still match.
Is a Malian service passport exempt from the visa?
ICA’s Mali page does not say so; it names no exempt passport type at all. Your best course is to ask ICA how a service passport is treated.
How long does ICA take to process the visa?
Three working days not counting submission day is ICA’s stated time, with exceptions taking longer. Our normal and express estimates relate to our work only.
How many days will I be allowed to stay?
That is decided by ICA at the checkpoint. The permitted period appears on the electronic Visit Pass emailed to you and does not depend on how long the visa is valid.
Do I need the SG Arrival Card as well as the e-Visa?
Yes. The arrival card is free, separate from the visa, and required of every traveller who is not exempt. File it during the three days before you arrive, the day of arrival included.
What happens to my payment if I cancel?
Before submission to ICA, a USD $50 cancellation fee applies per applicant and application, and the remaining eligible amount is refunded, subject to applicable law. After submission, the paid visa service fee is non-refundable, subject to applicable law.
Preparing your Malian application
Arrange English translations of your French records and the letter of introduction, confirm your passport’s validity, and look over our prices and estimates.
Go to the document requirementsApply Online