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Visas and documentation

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Visas

Details of the visas required for my trip. The following applies to a British citizen with a vehicle ? same requirements for a 4?4 or motorcycle unless stated.
– updated 10-Jun-2014

Summary

  • Visas: 16 (West Africa)
  • Total cost: ?1117.90 (approx.)

Details

Angola visa (Nov ?13)

  • Type:?1 month entry, valid for 3 months
  • Cost:?$160 USD (?110)
  • Embassy location: Accra, Ghana -?N5 36.712? W000 11.191?
  • Embassy open times:?9:30 to 1pm Mon and Tue. Collect on Friday?s
  • Documentation:?3 passport photos, copy of yellow fever, passport photo page, vehicle document, description of visit and itinerary. The itinerary needed to include hotel details (where hotels could be found), though it was not required to book a hotel. Keep passport until the collection day (Fri), when you deliver passport at 9am and collect at 12.
  • Turnaround:?8 business days, though we got ours in 3.
  • Ease of application:?Easy. Staff were super helpful and explained what docs were needed.

Botswana visa?(Feb ?14)

  • Type:?90 days
  • Cost:?free for UK citizen
  • Embassy location: Acquired visa on border
  • Embassy open times: n/a
  • Ease of application:?Easy: Request application form from the counter, complete form and join queue to request visa.
  • Notes:?Carnet does not need to be stamped out (as we did) ? the same entry voucher covers you for South Africa, Namibia and Botswana

Cameroon visa (Nov ?13)

  • Type:?Multi entry
  • Cost:?50k CFA (?90) for 3 days,?65k CFA (?110) for same day
  • Embassy location: Abidjan, Cote d?Ivoire -?N5 19.989? W003 58.741? (not far from American Embassy)
  • Embassy open times:?9 to 11am for passport submission. We were allowed in at 12, after explaining we?d spent the morning trying to find the embassy. Collected after 14:30
  • Documentation:?Passport, copy of passport, 2 photos
  • Turnaround:?same day or 3 days ? see costs
  • Ease of application:?Very easy when we found the embassy ? it has not been in the middle of Abidjan since 2010.

Congo,?Democratic Republic of?(Nov ?13)

  • Type:?Single entry, valid for 3 months, one month visit.
  • Cost:?65,000 CFA (?110)
  • Embassy location:?Dakar, Senegal -?N14 41.837? W017 28.217?
  • Embassy open times:?9am to 4pm
  • Documentation:?2 photos, 2 forms, copy of hotel booking
  • Turnaround:?4 days.
  • Ease of application:?Easy

Congo,?Republic of?(Dec ?13)

  • Type:?Single entry, valid for 3 months.
  • Cost:?60,000 CFA (?100) same day
  • Embassy location:?Lome, Togo -?N6 10.095? E001 12.433?
  • Embassy open times:?9am to 4pm
  • Documentation:?1 photos, 1 form
  • Turnaround:?While you wait.
  • Ease of application:?Easy

Cote d?Ivoire visa (Nov ?13)

  • Type:?Multiple entry, valid for 3 months.
  • Cost:?Apply online?and pay ?110
  • Arrange an appointment online?to submit paperwork
  • Embassy location: Dakar, Senegal -?N14 41.908? W017 27.522?
  • Embassy open times:?9am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm
  • Documentation:?Yellow fever certificate, 2 photos, 2 forms, copy of hotel booking
  • Turnaround:?3 days.
  • Ease of application:?Easy

East Africa Tourist Visa (Jun ’14)

Check under each country for additional border fees

  • Type:?Multiple entry, valid for 3 months and covers?Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda
  • Cost: 165,000 Tanzanian Shillings?= $100 (?70)
  • Embassy location: Kenyan High Comission,?Dar Es Salaam?-?S6.78545 E39.27874
  • Embassy open times: 8:30am to 4:30pm, 1pm on Friday
  • Documentation: 1 form, 1 photo and a covering letter
  • Turnaround: 1 hour.
  • Ease of application:?Easy

Gabon visa (Dec ?13)

  • Type:?Single entry, valid for 3 months.
  • Cost:?50,000 CFA (?80) 3 day turnaround, 65,000 CFA (?110) same day
  • Embassy location:?Lome, Togo ? N6 10.824? E001 14.064?
  • Embassy open times:?8:30am to 11:30am
  • Documentation:?3 photos, 1 form, hotel booking
  • Turnaround:?one or three days.
  • Ease of application:?Easy

Ghana visa (Nov ?13)

  • Type:?Single entry, 3 months
  • Cost:?65,000 CFA (?110)
  • Embassy location:?Dakar, Senegal -?N14 45.026? W017 29.523?
  • Embassy open times:?9am to 3pm Mon->Thu, 9am to 2pm Fri
  • Documentation:?4 photos, 4 forms, copy of passport, hotel booking, background letter.
  • Turnaround:?2 days
  • Ease of application:?Difficult. Receptionist is a strong gatekeeper and won?t move from ?you must apply in own country?. Assistance from Senior Council at the Nigerial Embassy

Guinea visa?(Nov ?13)

  • Type:?One month, post dated
  • Cost:?35,000 CFA + 2,500 for a digital photo (?60)
  • Embassy location:?Dakar, Senegal -?N14 41.855? W017 27.862?
  • Embassy open times: unknown
  • Documentation:?2 photos, 2 forms,?copy of passport
  • Turnaround:?Next day collection
  • Ease of application:?Easy

Kenya visa

See East Africa Tourist Visa

  • Notes: Needed to pay $20/2000 Kenyan Shillings for 1 month foreign vehicle road tax.

Malawi?visa?(May ?14)

  • Type:?90 days
  • Cost:?free for UK citizen
  • Embassy location: Acquired on border with?Mozambique
  • Embassy open times: n/a
  • Ease of application:?Easy.
  • Notes: Vehicles?need to pay a 10,000 Kwatcha road tax fee in the office next to the customs post. You will also require insurance – mine was 15,000 Kwatcha for 1 month.

Mauritania?visa?(Oct ?13)

  • Type:?single entry, valid for 1 month, post dated.
  • Cost:?350 MAD (?30)
  • Embassy location:?Rabat, Morocco -?N33 58.757? W006 49.996?
  • Embassy open times: Submit 9 to 11am, Collect 3 to 4pm
  • Documentation:?2?photos, one form, copy of passport
  • Turnaround:?Same day collection
  • Ease of application:?Easy (as long as you don?t turn up at 3:58 to collect?)

Morocco visa?(Sept ?13)

  • Type:?90 day visa at the border.
  • Cost:?None
  • Ease of application:?Easy

Namibia visa?(Jan ?14)

  • Type:?90 days
  • Cost:?free for UK citizen
  • Embassy location: Acquired on border with Angola
  • Embassy open times: n/a
  • Ease of application:?Easy: Jump queue to request application form from the counter, complete form and join queue to request visa.
  • Notes: Cross over to the left hand side at the border to Angola. Motorcycles need to pay a N$140 cross border road tax fee at the counter next to the Immigration department ? it?s more for cars and vehicles over 3.5t pay a per mile charge ? follow same process as per visa. We did not have Namibian Dollars, but there is a FCM bank ~200m from the border post whose ATM would accept my MasterCard.

Nigeria?visa?(Nov ?13)

  • Type:?single entry, valid for 3 months
  • Cost:?130,000 CFA (?200)
  • Embassy location:?Dakar, Senegal -?N14 41.791? W017 27.959?
  • Embassy open times: Submit 9 to 4pm
  • Documentation:?2?photos, two forms, copy of passport
  • Turnaround:?Next day collection
  • Ease of application:?Moderate ? needed to convince Senior Council that we could not apply our home country. After this, they helped us secure the Ghana visa.

Rwanda?visa

See East Africa Tourist Visa

Senegal?visa?(Oct ?13)

  • Type:?Multiple entry, valid for 3 months
  • Cost:?Apply online?and pay ?50 + ?2 handling fee
  • Embassy location:?Collect from Rosso border after biometric data captured -?N16 30.537? W015 48.706?
  • Embassy open times:?unknown
  • Documentation:?Copy of receipt, copy of payment
  • Turnaround:?While you wait
  • Ease of application:?Moderate ? lots of hassle ? we gave in and paid ?15 bribe to get the biometric stuff done for 5 people

Tanzania?visa?(May ?14)

  • Type:?90 day multi-entry
  • Cost:?$50
  • Embassy location: Acquired visa on border
  • Embassy open times: n/a
  • Ease of application:?Easy: Request application form from the counter, complete form and join queue to request visa.

Togo visa?(Dec ?13)

  • Type:?7 day visa at the border.
  • Cost:?10,000 CFA (?15)
  • Ease of application:?Easy ? the guy called Chez Alice for us without being asked.

Togo visa extension?(Dec ?13)

  • Type:?Conversion of 7 day visa to 30 day multi-entry.
  • Cost:?500 CFA (?0.90) for paperwork
  • Location: Lome, Togo -?N6 11.351? E001 12.487?
  • Opening times:?9am to 12:30, 2:30 to 5pm
  • Documentation:?4 passport photos
  • Turnaround: Collect next day at 3pm
  • Ease of application:?Easy, though?the guy behind the counter was a jerk.

Uganda?visa

See East Africa Tourist Visa

Zimbabwe visa?(Feb ?14)

  • Type:?90 days
  • Cost:?free for UK citizen
  • Embassy location: Acquired visa on border
  • Embassy open times: n/a
  • Ease of application:?Easy: Request application form from the counter, complete form and join queue to request visa.
  • Notes:?Additional fees: 50ZMW carbon tax for motorcycle, 10ZMW community tax and $20US road tax.

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