Obtaining Visas for East Africa

How to get an East African Visa

If you are planning to pay a visit to Uganda, Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for gorilla trekking and you are worried on how to get your visa, count your dreams achieved as it is now easier for you to obtain your visas. You can now buy a Uganda visa at entry point, Entebbe International Park or alternatively, when you are at the border point and for visitors on safari, it is possible for you to obtain one.

You only need $50, ensure that you have filled the application form with passport dates and information. Visa costs $50 and this goes for 3 months. The other option for you to apply for your visa is through online especially for those of you from South Africa, Japan, India, Germany, UK, USA, Italy, France, Denmark, Canada, Belgium and China. You can download the application form from your country embassy website and 2 copies of passports are required.

The charges also range as follows; the single entry for 90 days visa $100, multiple entry for 180days $200, transit visa for one week $100. Note that, visa requirements can easily change and this means, you must pay keen attention to advice offered by embassies prior your actual trip. The tourist visa requirements suggest that, each visitor should posses a valid passport of nationality or origin given by government. You will need to take an international Inoculation Certificate against yellow fever and a return ticket is vital though at times it is not asked. Citizens from America or Britain or any commonwealth states and Europe, you will need a visa if you are to enter Uganda. However, if you are from Tanzania, Swaziland, Seychelles, Rwanda, Mauritius, Malawi, Kenya, Eritrea, Zambia, Burundi, Angola, Madagascar, Lesotho, Gambia, Solomon Islands, Barbados, Bahamas and others, may not need a visa.

For those of you who would like to pay a visit to the DR Congo, make sure that you have cross checked with the security advice or the DR Congo embassy about safety of the country before embarking on your safari. You can get a tourist visa for Congo at a Congo Embassy in your home country and later, it will be approved when you are at Kinshasa. A single entry tourist visa can be got within 2 week’s time however; this is of benefit to visitors on gorilla safari to Kahuzi Biega National Park. This is as a result of agreement between the Congolese Wildlife Authority, Direction Generale de Migration and the Congolese immigration service. Uganda visitors to DRC can use the Rusizi 1 border and then pay $50 to 100. The visas issued on entry to Goma for tourism purposes are only valid for Bukavu, Kahuzi Biega National Park.

A tourist visa for Ugandan visitors to Congo will be valid for 14 days and for those from other nations, the visas can be valid for a month. For those of you who want to extend the date, you can do so long as you have communicated earlier to any of Congo’s Immigration Office in advance. For visitors from the SADC-South African countries, they can get their visas up on arrival. The tourist visa for DRC goes at $150. There are DR Congo embassies at Nairobi, Kampala and Kigali that you walk in to obtain your visa. The other alternative is through Kahuzi Biega National Park or agency that you will book your safari to DR Congo.

Conclusively, a visa is a significant travel tool that allows you have access to your dream destination. You can obtain one and have the most enjoyable vacation in Africa.

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