Mauritania: Visa + Border
 

Just quick update
Applied this morning, 5 people in total
Processed in fifteen minutes, collected at 1pm
Cost Mad 340...2 passport photos, passport, and b&w copy passport

Were you able to have your "entry date" as the date you actually expected to enter Mauritania, or did they insist the visa start that very day?

I heard it was the former, but when I applied in May 2014 they made me change the entry date to that very day (essentially cutting two weeks off a one month visa). In Mauritania I spoke to a German who had no such problem, perhaps mine was an isolated case.

When I got mine in July I was told you could have it start a maximum of 10 days later, which is what they did for me. Guy behind counter ZERO sense of humour!


Gary
www.longbikeride.co.uk

Hi,
I applied for a Mauritanian visa in Rabat in mid September and I could chose which date I wanted the visa to start. I set the start date to six weeks later.

I got mine today and I had the start date pushed out till the end of the month. 6.1.15 today and they let me go a maximum of 29.1.15.
They would not let me have it start in the following month.

Regards

Patrick

We had no difficulties whatsoever getting our visas last thursday in Rabat - they were positively lovely - all was done by 8:20am (even though they don't officially open until 9:00) and they were ready for collection at 3pm.

Someone who (I assume) worked there helped interpret some questions and tell us which ones were not necessary to complete (and did not ask for money in exchange).

We needed a photocopy of our passport (+ the real thing), two passport photos and 340Dh each.

Completely stress-free :)

Mauritania visa at Morocco border
 

Does anybody have recent (last year or so) experience regarding this border/visa?

I've read the other post here which suggest that it's all fairly straight forward, but I don't want to take any chances if there's any ambiguity about it.

Rabat isn't on my way but it's not that far.

Thanks

Not sure about the visa situation at the border but if there are problems it's a long ride back to Rabat!! Rabat is actually quite a nice place to spend a few days, a lot less touristy than Fez or Marrakech, with a cracking souk and a very cosmopolitan night life. Spent several days there over the years waiting for visas for Senegal and Mauritania and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mauri visa in Rabat or at border.
 

Hi, check out this thread:- http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...t-border-81300

I got my visa for Mauritania in Rabat in October last year for around €30 and the return visa in Gambia for around €45, but that was before these new regulations came in. I have not seen anyone commenting on the actual cost of the visa in Rabat since thes new costs came in.

I've been in Rabat before. It's fine but I'm keen to travel through the eastern side of the country where I've never been. IT's a few days until I leave the Rif so I'll wait and see what comes up here.

Just to update this, I did go to the border and had no problem getting the visa. IT's such a professional set up with biometric equipment and highly educated staff that it seems unlikely that you'd be refused it.

Saying that, the owner of a campsite near Merzouga told me that two Belgians were refused six months ago. I can only imagine they pissed somebody off, but who knows.

Last time I crossed the border there was a group of Polish bikers who looked very tired after having waited 24 hrs. Dunno what the fuzz was about.
Have yer papers in good order, personal & vehicle.

I was at the Mauritania embassy in Rabat yesterday (29/07/2015). Price was still 340Dh ! Talking to the people there, this will probably stay like this in the near future.

Unfortunately there was a 2 day waiting period because of the high volume of requests, this combined with a public holiday and a weekend, would mean a 6 day wait for our visa. Unfortunately, this means we will be getting our visa at the border instead for the inflated price of 120€

Procedure still the same. Apply before 11am. 2 photocopies of passport. 2 passphotos and you get a form to fill in. The photos need to be stapled to the form, so bring your stapler, or use the one from the fixer onsite. Prices are quoted in euro on the form outside of the building (34€), but payment seems to be preferred (required?) in Dirham (340Dh).

So, I was just about to post a picture of the official price list that hangs outside the embassy in Rabat. But now I read on a french forum that prices have changed again on 10th August and it got more expensive.

So, although very recent, this is no longer correct:

http://radiobaobab.be/assets/etogal/...2011.02.35.jpg

from: [url=http://voyageforum.com/discussion/visa-mauritanie-rabat-d7138274/]Visa Mauritanie

@2cvfred: Just asking: € 93,75 is 360-0 ... €31,25 is 30-0. Maybe means last one for the month or ... ?

You should read it right to left.. then it makes more sense :-) It was 1 month single entry, 1 month double entry and 1 year double entry.
But the important bit is: those prices date from July 29 and are seemingly no longer correct since August 10 (cannot confirm myself, check the French forum for source)

Has anyone obtained a Mauri visa in Paris???

Latest update: 100 euro in Rabat, 120 at the border. For 30-day one entry.

Hello! Did anyone get not a single entry visa in Rabat? Is it possible to get double or multy-visa?

Thank`s for the info. Did you see it by your own eyes in the counsulate? Or it`s the info from a french forum?

I confirm that. Today 120 euros at the border. Around 3 hours of papers and 15 euros for the assurance of the bike to ride for 10 days

I got visa at the border :) They even have fingerprints scanner and all that fancy stuff which is caused trouble for me at the next border - of Mauritania and Senegal - there was no electricity in frontier office and customs was not able to check biometric. It tooks two days to get rid of that greedy pricks without paying any bribes.

It`s always been very expensive on the border, but the sum`s been around 3 times cheaper in Rabat. I just want to make sure that this absurd raise wasn`t a mistake or smth like that as we were planning to go from Morocco to the South via Mauritania in a month but this visa cost is absolutely unacceptible for us so we`ll have to cancel the trip.
So I just need an exact recent practical info)))

Again - in Rabat it is 100 euro. I met two different travellers which confirmed that. No wondering that Mauritanians raised the visa prices - road it is the only thing they have to get money.

I see, thank`s! It`s interesting how much is multy-visa now))) Two hundred?)))

You will be surprised but for the same price. The only difference is that you cannot obtain multi-entry visa at the border - embassy only.

I'm wanting to head towards Mauritania on my push bike and would be returning the same way. Does anyone know how much a multiple entry visa costs in Rabat at the moment?

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

Did you try reading a couple of previous posts)))?

[QUOTE=Natty;517363]Did you try reading a couple of previous posts)))?[/QUOTE

Yep and tried to delete my question, but Tapatalk wouldn't let me. I think the previous post appeared as I was asking my question. Anyway, thanks for asking :D

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visa on boarder
 

hello,
what's the latest info on mauri visa at morc / mauri boarder ,not worth getting one in Rabat if security situation gets worse ,and I get turned back . waste of a visa . leaving Plymouth on 3rd of nov and heading south . pity about the Diama piste being closed , don't fancy Rosso again ! , maybe I will see some of you on the tar. regards chris

Maybe I missed somewhere but where it says the Diama piste is closed?

Probaby best to get it in Rabat, border is a bit of a mess.

I got a multi entry in rabat three weeks ago, price difference with single was 10 percent.. its expensive though, close to 100 euros

Mauritanian Visa at border rumor
 

Can anyone confirm rumor that Mauritanian Visa can now be gotten at the border. Would make it much easier but don't want to get there and be turned away.

Bob:scooter:

Yes it can. Our group passed through a few weeks ago.

Dave.....is it more expensive than getting it in Rabat??

Never got confirmation that it can be gotten at the border in time so got one in Rabat today.
Cost is 1000Dh for 30 days or 1110 Dh for three months which I understood was needed for multiple entry if you are going down farther and back up. Will see if I can get costs when I get to border.
Bob:scooter:

It was 1000 Moroccan Dirhams at the embassy in Rabat (1 month single entry)

Price at the border was €100 Euros (1 month single entry)

These prices were correct as of 2 weeks ago.

Any other recent attempts to get the visa at the border? In Morocco and would like to skip Rabat if possible.

no problem getting via at border price now 150 euros

Wow, that's a lot. Is there still the option of a cheaper 72-hour transit visa, or was that phased out a long time ago?


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Border crossing into Mauritania
 

Does anyone know if you can drive into and through Mauritania safely yourself (coming from Morocco). Hearing and reading lots of stories about obligated convoi you have to join at the border for quite a lot of money.
Anyone experience??

Thanks!

Hi KarsenSimone,

That's exactly what they are - stories. There is no need for a convoy, and those that tell you otherwise are trying to con you and make money out of you. Some people fall for it, and then they keep trying it on and making more money out of travellers.

In the 80's and 90's, there was a compulsory convoy from Dakhla south to the border with Mauri. That stopped many years ago.

Around 2008, after the 3 Spaniards were kidnapped, they insisted foreigners travelled on the Nouadibou-Nouakchott highway in a convoy for a short while, but again that ended quite some time ago.

There's no need to pay ANY money coming into Mauritania, unless you need to get the visa, buy insurance, or the laissez passez. That's it.

Hope that helps a bit.

Dave the Hat

That helps A LOT! Good to hear, thank you so much Dave

Some photos of the border and crossing, and then into Mauritania

S10 Carry on Dakar!

Oh nice! Looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing

Bonjour!
Friends driving their converted bus just got into Mauritania and drove to the Capital city without trouble!
HOWEVER:
1) they had to do the border formalities trough a "forwarding agent" a local guy, not official nor qualified of course, who charges 50 Euros...without any receipt or ...
Guess where the money ends up?
2) the price for one month visa jumped from 50E to ....120 E
Again no receipt

Now they are confortably resting on the wonderful beach 20k north of Nouackshot

Hi,
Currently in Nouakchott having crossed over from Morocco a few days ago.

Got visa in Rabat 10,000dhm. Stayed in vehicle overnight outside embassy to be first in queue. Chap wanted 10dhm for parking, same again when collecting visa the same day. Negotiate, but many people tip him more in Euros.

Arrived at border late afternoon and waited till it closed before joining queue and again slept in vehicle.

Get immigration form from police just inside gate in the morning rather than paying 10dhm for somebody to fill it out for you. Again parking person will want some money for you staying there (2dhm, asked for 10).

As soon as gates open get non drivers to walk through to first customs shed and put passports outside window.

Driver will get ushered through, join passport with others already in queue.
Ensure you have the green piece of paper from TIP with you.

Various police checks , customs stamps etc before being allowed out but all fairly clear.

Enjoy the drive through no-mans land.....

At Mauritania side drive through gates ignoring touts. Border guards very friendly and attempted to help out by directing to wrong building.

All a little confusing after that. Don't let go off passport etc unless necessary.
Essentially, one building to get visa.
One building for immigration and stamps in passport.
One building to get vehicle paperwork
One building for customs to deal with vehicle paperwork more passport stamps.
One building right at the exit for gendarmes to check again.
Free to walk around area and get money changed etc whilst waiting.

The vehicle paperwork was hardest. A couple of other vehicles there also having issues. Customs refused to deal with vehicle paperwork directly and insisted used an official helper. 40Euros to get piece of paper typed up, this then taken back to customs and entered in book, passport stamped etc.

On leaving carpark, receipt given for 500oug to drop chain and allow out of customs parking, then just a final gendarme check.

Have plenty of fiche ready, used 3 just being down the road to Nouadibhou.

Finally, ensure no alcohol etc in vehicle. A dog was used in vehicle search on Morocco side. Pretty thorough check x2 on Mauritania side, boxes out, bags opened. Bottle of fruit squash queried as being alcohol etc.

Good luck!
Richard

Got insurance in Nouadhibou, 6,988 oug for 10 days.
Only one campsite open in Nouadhibou. Camping Baie Du Levrier. 5,000oug for 2 people and vehicle.
Camping Abba being demolished.

Thanks for border update, Richard. I think you meant 1000 dh for the Rabat visa?
I guess no insurance kiosk at the Mori border anymore?
What was the oog x rate at the border?
Did you try exchange in No Man's Land or NDB?

Thanks for the update! Do you have the coords for the campsite? Couldn't find it on google or Osm. Will be there tomorrow afternoon.


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At the border, a tout makes it easier, sometimes necessary if the lines are long etc.
My fav tout is Hamida +222 47403323
he has a sense of humour and is very efficient
three years ago I had the family in the car and there was a hundred Senegambian car dealers before us, things were getting nasty. But he took us through in 30 minutes. So money well spent!
going rate used to be 20 euros but I think they may be getting greedy at the border now, which may spell trouble if it goes on unchecked
Hamida even helped me hide the whiskey inside the back door in nomansland after I had broken my arm last year. :thumbup1:
Don't exchange more then you need at the border, you can get a much better rate in Nouakchott, esp at the grand marché.
When in Nouakchott why not visit Ahmed Fall's famed record store, le Saphire d'Or Saphire D'Or - sahelsounds
From afrobeat to zouk: the Mauritanian home of rare African sounds | World news | The Guardian
Ahmed Fall was the first rock musician in Maure, long time ago, still a great poet and singer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5c468ibHAg
In Mauretanie there is the division between maures and blacks that goes back a looooooong time, but in later years there is a growing sense of being of one nation. The one thing that unites all Mauretanians is the voice of Dimi (r.i.p.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19aTW5lIygc
Mauretania used to be a godforsaken place that you passed (with difficulty) going to "Africa". It is becoming more and more interesting as its own destination, esp with the troubles now in the rest of the Sahara.

Four of us crossed into Mauritania yesterday (on motorbikes). Two of us used a fixer named Cheik who charged 10 euros a piece. The other two crossed on their own, following our example. We paid 120 euros for visa, 10 for 1 week temp import permit, 15 for one week of insurance. There was no hassle with having someone prepare our TIPs- we filled in the document ourselves and handed it over. The official rate on the mauri side was very close to the xe.com exchange which id checked the night before (for euros). 30 ougs for dirhams (some guy on the street outside offered 34). If alone, I'd recommend using Cheik or another friendly fixer for ten euros, but you could do it yourself too.

Someone came up asking us to pay for parking which we refused to pay on principle since the fixer hadn't mentioned that cost at the outset. It may have been a "real" cost though as the other two were forced to pay and our fixer told us he paid for us (1 Eur).


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Just returned from Mauritania. I can confirm Cheikh is useful, reasonably priced and speaks good(ish) english. Used him on the way in then had a blazing row about how much the temp import cost, then found out if you want more than 2 weeks it goes up a lot! All smoothed over and I suggested he tell clients all the costs beforehand and he seemed to agree this was a good idea. His number is 00222 36189569. He has a shifty eyed buddy who hangs around at the Morocco side but they are legit. I'm not a great fan of using fixers, but there's not a single helpful official on the Mauri side of this border and no signs on any of the offices so they certainly make things simpler.
Chris: Insurance is still available at the border.
Ride/drive safe,
Simon.
(Green Land Rover 110 you may have seen heading north a couple of days ago!)

Sounds like as Rosso on the south side has got better, now the disease has spread up to Mori/Mk border. What a shame. They really are not encouraging tourism. Maybe that's the idea, like Algeria.

I use a fixer too, fot the last 4 years or so. Sometimes it's 10 euros, sometimes it's just a present for him or his family. The rest of expenses (as of 3 weeks ago): 120 eu visa, 50 eu in total customs carpapers filled in by another fixer, police no expenses, insurance 25 eu for a mid sized truck (can be much more, depending on your negotiating capabilities), 2.5 eu for parking :)))))))))). Exchange rate for dirham 34-36. 1 euro 380 ougiyas. You can much better insurance deals in Nouadhibou or Bou Lanouar, but then you have to sneak past a police chekpoint set up especially for smart guys that. Security is very good. My travelling companion got a stone thrown at him driving at night. Luckily he was not hurt. We decided to report the incident anyway. The gendarmes chief called us twice to apologise for the incident in the name of his country, wow, and they actualy caught the four young perpetrators. After many years detesting the country I slowly start to like Mauritania. I aways sleeps in the brousse, never had any probs.

We applied for ours in Rabat on the 10/11/2015. Very easy except were not pleased to see prices have risen from 340 dirham to 1000Dirham for single entry
2x passport sizes photos
1x copy of passport
make sure to have address and contact number for place you will be staying in Maurintania.
Very easy process. Arrived early at 8am and collected same day at 2pm

A recent description
 

Thanks for thir report☺
RR.

We crossed the border into Mauritania 4 days ago ( 20 nov.). We already had a visa but there were many people buying theirs at the border. No problem at all. To be paid in euro's and costs € 120 though.

We crossed into Mauritania from Maroc 4 days ago. PFFFFF. We arrived at the border at 08.00, but heard there they didn't open till 09.00. When it opened they let only 5 or 6 cars in at a time. Since we were like no. 30 in line and there were a lot of trucks as well, we crossed the border at 12.00!! Once there, it went pretty quickly and we were driving through No man's land after 45 mins. But then getting into Mauritania...... No signs, no officials who tell you what to do or where to go, so you just go with the flow. Then these guys everywhere who'll help you to get your temp. import vehicle form. That took forever!!! The problem is, you cannot do it yourself (not that day least...) We ended up paying € 40 for this form and the insurance for 10 days cost € 30 or 9500 oug. We drove into Mauritania at 18.00 hrs.!!! We did meet other people in Nouadhibou who crossed a day earlier and the got through from Maroc all within 2/3 hours, so it CAN also be done quickly...

This is a pic of the guy Cheikh that Simon mentioned..... To be found on the Mauri side of the crossing. To be fair the Morocco side whilst beurocratic is relatively straightforward.

Nick

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...pse3zpgkip.jpg

vısa mauritania and mali in rabat
 

Hallo from maroc ,
Last week they had finished the papers form for the visa in Mauritania embassy in Rabat then they stopped to sell visa. Do you have news ?
Mali stopped to sell visa at the border ,then it sbetter to buy in rabat or nouakchot of you are not french.
Some peoples are they driving to SA buy Wcoast ?

That is worrying news if true and a very recent change. Does anybody else have any information?

We ll see ,ans maybe We ll go First in senegal.

In Merzouga now so by the time we drive to Rabat..pay to stay there..drive back down 120 euros sounds ok i guess..is that each???

120 euro 1 month at the border and they don t do 3 months visas.
We Are in tafraout and thinking to go back in rabat to buy visa of mauritania and mali,It s possible in the same day.
Then will save euro cash and hot the mali visa easier .

Cannot disagree..120 euro is a lot for us. One month is ok for us and we have been to Mali so will skip it this time. We got the Mali visa at the border for 30 euros last time.

We got the Mauri visa at the border two weeks ago for 120 EUr but it was only 14 days single entry. Not sure if we could have got 30 days.

Again, having been there before 14 days is enough...thanks for the information..

Just got visa
 

I Just got my visa from Rabat on the 16/11/2015. 93€ , passport page photocopy, passport and application form you get at the desk. Picked up at 14:00 same day. Also just meet a few backpackers coming from Senegal today, they got the visa at Rosso, 3.5hr wait, only exept Euro so bring as you will get done on the change at the border. Greetings from Nouakchott.

Hy. We are a Slovakian couple and we travel towards SA by W coast. We was in Rabbat for one week( to take our Mauritanian Viza but the Embassy was closed so we decidet to have it at the border because the cost of staying in Rabbat was high) We want to take our Mali visa at the border but now we dont know if its still possible. Do you have some recent info about getting Mali Visa at the border? Thanks ...Fero

Get the Mali visa at the embassy in Nouakchott, same day service.
If you are in Rabat, the Mali embassy there is only a few blocks from the Mauri embassy. But they both need your passports, so probably an extra day.

Where are the days
 

Where are the days when the Visa was 20Euros....

Hi there,

Just returned from the Mauritania embassy in Rabat and it was quite something today. They have just switched to a new biometric system which no one understands yet. We had to wait 6 hours before they let us in, and then more chaos ensued when we were inside. No more copies or passport pictures are needed but you can also no longer fill out the form! This sucks big time for us since they would not let us start our visa on the 5th of April (the day we intend to enter Mauritania), but on the date of application. This might change once they get the hang of the new system but everyone was too stressed out today. Monday we can collect our visas, hopefully everything will be okay.

Oh and they increased the price of the visa to 1450 Dirham.

Cheers,

Tim & Anne

So then it is straight on to the border again.

Visa Prices
 

Hi Everyone, I was just wondering if it's better to apply for the visa in Rabat or at the border. I'm not sure if it matters, but I have an American passport. I'm in Rabat now, but I won't go to Mauritania for another 3 weeks or so. Thanks!

Visa
 

Oh, this is unfortunate news. I was planning to go to the embassy in Rabat tomorrow, but I won't be in Mauritania for another month. If they increased the prices at the embassy, I guess they did the same at the border. Darn!

I will go straight to the border. If there are any hickups, I trust they will be posted here.

Maybe give it a try anyhow, they were really stressed out last thursday, might be better monday! We'll try to get something done for sure

As I understand it, you've already applied at the embassy, right? Now you're just waiting to see what will happen on Monday? My issue is that I won't be in Mauritania for another 2-3 weeks so if I get it now and they won't let me choose a future date for the visa to start, it'll be almost finished by the time I try to enter the country. How did you deal with that since you said you wanted to enter in April? For how long is your visa good? I thought they were only for a month.

Ha!! We were accosted by this guy back in January! Couldn't shake him off. He was slightly helpful, but we could have managed without him.

As an aside ... I got my visa in Paris in December -- as I wasn't sure of the exact day we would arrive at the border, I got Jan 23rd entered on the visa. We arrived there on the 25th. One junior cop got a bit "sniffy" about that but his boss pointed out to him that the 23rd was the earliest date of entry allowed.

Roger

Just returned from Mauri and want to warn that (apparently since a couple of weeks) they now only accept biometric visas, that can be done only in few embassies besides the border (I think Rabat, Paris and few others). We got there with a "regular" visa issued by the embassy of Rome and there was no way to have it accepted. After a LONG discussion we managed to convince them to accept to speak with the embassy (they were kind to call us back on a moroccan mobile). They eventually managed to convince the embassy that their visa was not valid... so we had to pay 120 eur again, but the guys of the embassy apologized and promised they'll refund us.

Met several other people in Mauri who had the same problem.

If not for this, crossing the border would have been relatively straighforward, despite the usual jumping forth and back between the different booths. We just just had to wait two hours on the way back because the customs officer who had to take off vehicles from our passports arrived late in the morning.

Do you know if it's the same price to get the visa at the border or at an embassy? For how long is the visa valid? I'd like to get it in Rabat or the border, but if it starts immediately, I guess it's better to get it at the border. Thanks!

I paid the same 120 euros at the border and embassy of Rome, I suppose it's 120 euros in Rabat as well (other earlier posts mention the same price as well). This is for a 30-day visa. The visa done at the embassy does not start immediately, I was allowed to specify the start date I needed. I was also told it's possible to get a visa for a longer period for a higher price, though I did not pay attention to the details since 30 days were enough for me. I just remember that some traveller I met in Atar complained he was allowed to get only a 30 days visa at the border and that >30 days was only allowed from embassies, so he had to get another visa after one month (and pay 120 eur again), but I cannot tell how reliable this information is.

Apart for our incident with the Rome visa, getting it at the border took no more than 15' (picture taken, fingerprint scan, and pay cash; they even issued a receipt). But I guess it could well take forever if there's any technical problem with computers, fingerprint scanner, power, or if the operator is busy with AOB.

HTH
Nicola

Mauretania visa update
 

the mauri visa in rabatt cost now 1450dh !! thats about 135 euros!! and will NOT be deliverd at the same day, pick up next day at 2pm they said. in fact they collectet the passport 2.30pm and gave it back 4pm... i just did it 4 days ago... the beginning of the visa is as usual a gamble, there were an american and an aussi, they wanted it 3 months delayd, but issued on the next day...
i dont know about the visa at the border, i keep hearing stories about that beeing denied, and driving back from the border to rabatt really sucks...

its just hilarious.... but i heard that they're thinking about a ferry from dakhla to dakar... we'll see...

oh yeah and for that money you'll get only a 30day single entry visa.... i think 90 days visas are also possible for some more dirhams but not sure if they're multiple entries...

Thanks, Nicola! That sounds great. I'm hoping to go to Rabat within in the next couple days to sort out a visa. I just didn't want it to start immediately. 30 days is enough for me as well. I have an American passport so I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get one at the border. Still debating which way to go. You paid in dirhams or euros at the border? Thanks!

You have to pay in Euro at the border. They will only accept bills that are 100% ok. If the bills have only a small tear or look used, they will not accept them (at least not in Rosso).

gesendet mit Tapatalk

On the border for 125 euro singel entry and watch they only accept bio metric visa. If you don't have one you have to buy a new one.

Thanks for the information. What do you mean by a biometric visa? Do you mean you need to have a biometric passport to get a visa on the spot?

No... the visa is biometric..and yes you get it at the border with maroc for 120 euros single entry 30 day. Just don't pay a fixer for all this please..they are scum and its simple to sort everything yourself..

To get a multiple entry visa, which is best - Rabat or border?

We know how people who got Multi entry but they said it was a hassle...no biometric..no entry so make sure Rabat are up to speed.
Plus if you wish to head back north and want to avoid the Rosso nightmare you can cross north at Diama with a multi entry visa..

when i was in rabat, the official statement was that at the moment there are no multiple entries visa for mauri

i know everybody hates rosso, i thought so too.. but this time it was a walk in the park, with the carnet, everthing was so easy and sure it was the second time so i knew more or less what was to do. my car was full, and i mean full ;) of gifts,clothes and two computers and no problem at all with the customes... neither in senegal nor mauri or maroc. thumbs up!

Then I will investigate for multiple entry and report back. Was hoping to skip Rabat

Heading north; Mali/Senegal to Mauritania visa.
 

Today I phoned AND visited the Mauritanian embassy in Dakar. Told that for a year now the embassy does not issue visas. Visas must be acquired on the border. We were told this must happen in Rosso and no where else along the southern Mauritanian border including Mali/Mauritania border.

Before entering Mauritania we aim to head east to Mali then cross to Néma (Mauritania). But the embassy said it is now not possible for tourists to cross from Nara (Mali) to Néma as you can not get Mauritanian visa at the border (or any Mali/Mauritanian crossings), but the Mauritanians do not issues visas at the embassy, only Rosso/Senegal border. This suggests the Nara and Nioro borders are not available for us? Cant be.

Am I taking crazy pills or has anyone managed to figure this out?

Let's see what happens with this one. I believe Dagana is the 'crossing' to the east of Rosso. Not sure where the other 4 crossings will be:

IOM, Partners Begin Construction of New Border Posts in Senegal -

Crossed Morocco>Mauritania the other day and decided to use Cheikh...and all in all very glad I did:
Total crossing from arrival Morocco side to leaving Mauri side = 5hrs 20 mins.
Morocco side was slow but straightforward, including going through the truck scanner (no actual search of vehicle).

I needed a visa, and this was the cause of about 90minutes delay, since there was apparently a delegation visiting from some international body or other and the visa guys were off dealing with them. Once they finally came back, those of us with fixers got processed first...could have been a lot longer otherwise. I ended up agreeing an all-in fee with Cheikh, which basically was 25euro plus all the other fees, and then let him run around and get on with it while I brewed coffee and watched the world go by. I just wasn't in a DIY sort of mood...

You take your choice...but he seems a reasonable guy, bargain with him on price or do it yourself if you feel inclined to have some entertainment...