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Gabon Congo and DRC visas at border? Gabon Congo and DRC visas at border?
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  #1  
Old 23 Jun 2009
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Gabon Congo and DRC visas at border?
We (4 x Uk, 1 x German passports) are currently in Yaounde on the way south and were wondering what our options are regarding visas for Gabon, Congo and DRC. We already have double entry transit visas for Angola that we got in Abuja two weeks ago.

I found infos that visas for Gabon and Congo are available at the borders (Wendy and Rob go travelling: Info on visas for Angola, DRC, Congo, Gabon) . Can anyone confirm availability and prices?

Regarding DRC visas, is it easy and cheaper in the embassy in Brazza? Here in Yaounde they want 60000 CFA plus 15000 'admin fee'. Gabon visa here is 50000 and Congo 50000 for German nationals and 70000 for British. All very pricey...

Anyone with some recent info regarding alternatives in Libreville and Brazza?

Thanks.

Micha
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  #2  
Old 24 Jun 2009
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Hi, I'll be going to Capetown in 2010 and I'm worried about going through Congo and Kinshasa.

Since it seems possible to get a double entry visa for Angola (difficult?), is it advisable/possible to go:
a) Cabinda, Matadi, Angola, or
b) Cabinda and take the ferry to Angola (expensive)?

Or is my fear of Congo exaggerated and solely based on Tim Butcher's Blood River, which I'm currently reading?
Blood River by Tim Butcher ~ Published By Chatto & Windus

Thanks,
Julian
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  #3  
Old 25 Jun 2009
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You worry too much
DRC is no problem and actually a pleasure. If you catch the 10 am ferry you can make Kintampu before dark and the next day is a half day drive to Matadi. IRC 300 km's on good tar, no problems at all.
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  #4  
Old 25 Jun 2009
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Visas
Quote:
Originally Posted by micha View Post
Regarding DRC visas, is it easy and cheaper in the embassy in Brazza? Here in Yaounde they want 60000 CFA plus 15000 'admin fee'.
It's a scam, the girl there tells you your visa has been declined and then keeps the 'admin fee', we got ours their but it took a lot of strong arm tactics from our embassy. Get it in Brazza, much cheaper and you get it same day.

Quote:
Originally Posted by micha View Post
Gabon visa here is 50000 and Congo 50000 for German nationals and 70000 for British. All very pricey...
Yep, that side of the continent is pricey.

Quote:
Originally Posted by micha View Post
Anyone with some recent info regarding alternatives in Libreville and Brazza?
Unless you want to see Libreville the easiest way to go currently is to Lope and on to Franceville to Oyo in Congo, nice route and you cut out the Pule region completely, let me know if you want the track log. Brazza is a bit expensive but a really nice city to visit.
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  #5  
Old 28 Jun 2009
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@eljulian: Abuja visa was straight forward, though only for the 5-day transit visa. It cost 100 US dollars. Double entry appeared to be standard. For the tourist visa you have to wait two weeks as they send all paper work to Luanda for processing.

@jean: great, thanks for your info. Will apply for DRC visas in Brazza then, not planning to go to Libreville. BTW the tracklog would be good, many thanks. Can you PM me?

We got the Gabon visas here in Yaounde for 50k CFA and the Congo one also for 50k (EU passports), though we have heard that others were charged 70k. The Gabon embassy was 'interesting'. When I came to pick our passports up I could have chosen any quantity and names out of the magic cardboard box: How many do you want? Is this one of yours? No names asked and nothing signed for. Scary...
For anyone else interested in getting the Gabon visa here: They will quote you 50k for 3-day or 70k for next-day processing. We went for the 50k option and asked already the next day and sure enough it was ready already. It happened to others, too. Just another scam...
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  #6  
Old 27 Jul 2009
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Congo visa at border
Quote:
Originally Posted by micha View Post
I found infos that visas for Gabon and Congo are available at the borders (Wendy and Rob go travelling: Info on visas for Angola, DRC, Congo, Gabon) . Can anyone confirm availability and prices?
I don't know about prices, but when I crossed from Congo into Gabon (between Oyo and Francesville, June 2009), the immigration official proudly showed me pages of blank visa stickers and confirmed that he could issue Congo visas there at the border.
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  #7  
Old 30 Jul 2009
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CONGO (brazza) definitely issues visa on arrival , and on both borders (DRC and Gabon) . I also saw the stamps , etc.. and the price list on the Gabon-Congo border -kind of scary border , btw with all those recoilless guns pointing out -


I fly to Congo in 3 weeks. Congo has been funny latelty about chinesse inmigration , and -as my flight Sydney->HK->Nairoby-Brazza they insisted 3 times to see a visa before issuing me the ticket. I had to get a Congo visa -from Sydney- at a horrendous price (>300 EURO!)
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  #8  
Old 30 Jul 2009
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roads
Quote:
Originally Posted by micha View Post
We (4 x Uk, 1 x German passports) are currently in Yaounde on the way south and were wondering what our options are regarding visas for Gabon, Congo and DRC. We already have double entry transit visas for Angola that we got in Abuja two weeks ago.

I found infos that visas for Gabon and Congo are available at the borders (Wendy and Rob go travelling: Info on visas for Angola, DRC, Congo, Gabon) . Can anyone confirm availability and prices?

Regarding DRC visas, is it easy and cheaper in the embassy in Brazza? Here in Yaounde they want 60000 CFA plus 15000 'admin fee'. Gabon visa here is 50000 and Congo 50000 for German nationals and 70000 for British. All very pricey...

Anyone with some recent info regarding alternatives in Libreville and Brazza?

Thanks.

Micha
Hi, wondering how you got on and which road you took to get from yaounde to braza? Myself and 2 others are going on bikes shortly. What did the visas cost you also?
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