Gambia

Welcome to the forum gambiakennington

I hope other members will be able to help and advise you accordingly by contributing to your discussion!

Best Regards!

i live in the gambia what infor is it your looking for ?

If we should choose to live in The Gambia in a years time, what is the first thing to do here in England.  Do we contact the Gambian Embassy, Inland Revenue etc. and what do you do with regards to your health. Gambia is not so good on this issue.
I would be grateful for any information on emigration.  My husband is Gambian, he is a phlebotomist here in UK.

i am a british citizen i want to live in gambia, please tell me what i need to be able to live there

A thick skin to protect you from the bottom-pinchers; a deep purse to fund your stay since evry male Gambian will do what he can to extract whatever is in it; a desire to have children chase you, sometimes in gangs yelling toobab (two-bob) give me dalassi, hve you a ball for the boys, give me present; nerves of steel for walking Gambia's non-exitent pavements; a strong liver to cope with the alcohol consumption expected while meeting other ex-pats in the only place you'll be certain to find them; a deeply suspicious nature to ensure you are aware of the rip-offs; sharply honed bargaining powers to reduce the amount you will pay to usual toobab prices (still well above the Gambian price and an awareness that colour is not a bar to fraud. Some of the worst rip-offs are perpetrted by Europeans on Europeans.

Ah worldly wanderer, you are speaking from experience I take it. But still for me, despite the above, and not having developed a thick enough skin yet, though I am working on it, I love it and will always love it. I have never really met other expats there much. I wonder if next time I should? I have many many Gambian friends and family, and I think I would also like to move there. My main worry is how to support myself but also the government, so I would advise this woman to make sure you have a bank account you can manage from Gambia that is safe in UK, or that you use an account with the british bank, not the gambian one. I don't think Gambia will give you a passport even if married to a Gambian until you have stayed seven years there. You can keep getting your visa extended easily though by going to immigration, go to the one near traffic light, (that is the place) not the one in Banjul, it is quicker and easier, and pay for a few months at a time. As for your health, your stomach will get used to the water soon enough and the thing to watch out for is malaria, just be ready to get medicine as soon as you feel ill with anything resembling malaria. But dont bother with medicines to stop malaria, no good if you are staying a long time. All authorities will tell you something different and try to subsidise the crappy pay they get, so dont just take what they say at face value. Learn as much local language as you can, that is really really helpful, you can know what is being said about you, you will be able to make friends with more people and you will be respected for making the effort, even if your accent or grammar is poor. If your husband is Gambian he and his family should help you with all of that immigtration and official stuff.

You arrive on a tourist visa, valid for 1 month. This can be extended for another 2 months by getting your passport stamped at any immigration office. To stay longer you will need an Alien Identity Card and a Residents Permit. They cost a couple of thousand and expire on 31st December. That's all you need.

I think they are 1,500 Dalasi for Alien Identity Card, Same as Residents Permit.
''..   Rich.....

The aliens identity card and the residents permit are different documents. Any alien requires both to stay in The Gambia for more than 90 days and the issue of them is the usual Gambian shambles. The underpaid police force who handle the process are always on the lookout for ways to extract a few dalasi for photocopying or preferential treatment. The costs are listed clearly on the web and the best place to apply is at the Immigration Department in Banjul as only they have the technology to produce the card on the spot.

As a;ways the easy way to apply is to have a friendly policeman, at least Chief Inspector grade, help you through the process. He can save you hours of waiting, provided the power is on. If it is off nobody can help as the Immigration Department do not use their emergency generator.