Getting your application approved first time
Small practical details can delay an application: a blurred photo, a date that does not match or a mistyped email address. Here is how to avoid unnecessary corrections.
Gather the documents before you open the form
Lay everything out on your desk before you start. The form then fills in one go, without interruption.
- Your passport, open at the identity page.
- A recent, clear photo or selfie.
- The confirmation of your outbound and return flights.
- Your accommodation booking, in your name, covering every night.
Scan the identity page properly
A flatbed scanner gives a clear result, but a phone will also work if you follow a few rules.
- Lay the passport flat on a dark, plain surface.
- Hold the camera directly above the document, with no angle.
- Turn the flash off: a reflection on the machine-readable zone makes the document unusable.
- Check that all four corners of the page are visible and that nothing covers the text.
- Read the two lines of characters at the bottom of the page yourself: if you cannot make them out, neither can an officer.
Make every date match
The dates entered on the form must match those on your tickets and your accommodation booking exactly.
- The arrival date is the date you land in Mahé, not the date you take off. An overnight flight often shifts the date by a day.
- The departure date is the date of your return flight out of the Seychelles.
- Your passport must stay valid at least until that departure date.
Check your email address twice
The authorisation arrives by email, as a PDF. One missing letter in the address and the document never turns up. Read the address character by character, then keep an eye on your spam folder in the hours that follow.
The yellow fever case
The international vaccination certificate is required if you arrive from a country where the disease circulates, but also after a long transit in the airport of one of those countries. The rule often surprises travellers connecting in Addis Ababa or Nairobi. Check this on the page for your nationality before you book your route.
For air travel, the official guidance allows applications up to ten days before the flight. Once your bookings and documents are ready, start my application.