Hey there,
We've just received yesterday our DRC visas from Brazzaville. 2 week duration costing 35,000cfa. It took overnight and an extra 5,000cfa for the chief to make a 'phonecall' but all's well.

My bike is having troubles at the mo with suspension, starter and piston ring problems so I've applied for a Congo extension and should have it. Anyone know of any bike shops in Brazza, as far as I know there isn't anything here. The bottom pin for the busted monoshock is well and truly stuck and I'm having a 'mare trying to get it out.


Thanks for the info on the cleaning scam.

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Geoffshing

'Security is a product of one's own imagination, it does not exist in nature as a rule, life is either a daring adventure or nothing.'

Are you sure about this? Did it work in reality? I was told similar, also that with transit visa you can overstay, no problem, etc etc. This was all BS. Number of entries is written on visa, by default it is 1. Maybe it is possible to get 2-entry visa on some cases and you got one? At least in Paris they told me that it is impossible to get multi-entry visa and that single-entry visa can't be used for both Cabinda and mainland. So I had to get another Angola visa in Matadi (a few years ago it was possible).

Hey Steve

When we went through in July, we got our DRC in Yaounde, but I also visited the consulate in Libreville and they also were issuing visa's and they were 5000 CFA cheaper.

We ended up having to get a double entry visa in London, but it was not cheap...We went Pointe Noire through Cabinda, then DRC, then the border just before Matadi and headed into Angola. Drove through in 5 Days once in Angola ( Luanda ) with a Scania truck, but very long days. It took 9 days from Pointe Noire to Windhoek, road works everywhere.
Is the 5 Day transit visa from the day you enter Cabinda, or is a seperate 5 days visa for each Angola?

Good luck with DRC.

Grant and Andi

I have no idea if it works in reality! We haven't got our passports back from the embassy yet - Friday they come, hopefully!

Both the Transit Visa and Tourist Visa application forms state explicitly both visas are valid for one or two entries. Whether that is upheld or not is yet to be ascertained!

I'll let you know in due course
Steve

www.overafrica.org

Thanks guys for all the info.

RE the Angolan tourist visa application in Abuja:
I'm just wondering what exactly is required for the letter of introduction and if I can bring a copy/original with me, or if it needs to be sent directly to the Angolan embassy in Abuja? Or perhaps someone can point me to an uptodate source online where I can get this info?

Cheers,
Julian

Julian, you don't need an introduction letter for the tourist visa, you need an invitation from someone in Angola. Best is to make a hotel reservation and get it from them (Yes, I know its difficult on the road.)

Now, trying to get the DRC visa in Yaounde. We gave in our apps, they were expensive, 180 000 CFA for us 4, they got refused and the embassy retained 60 000 CFA "Administration Fee", the money goes into their pockets, you don't get receipts, nothing. Some British travellers got the same treatment. We then went to the South African Embassy and complained, the guys there was super helpful and they had to fight for 2 days so we could get our visas. In hindsight it was a waste of time. The British embassy was not helpful for our friends and they got theirs here in Brazzaville without problems.

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Jean Visser

http://ons4.reproroom.com

Thanks a lot for the info Jean.

Through my friends I hope to find someone living in the country who will write a letter of invitation for me and I was just wondering if there was a format that people on here had found to work.

Happy, scam-free travels on from Yaounde!

Julian

Any news?

Just to let you all know that our mates just obtained double entry transit visa's for Angola in Abuja. They applied on Wednesday and have just picked them up today ( Friday ).

Thanks for the information Steve, it was agreat success

Now they just have to worry about DRC visa's

Cheers Andi and Grant

Hey Folks,

just thought some of you might want to know that you can get the Angola Visa in Abuja in one day...if you ask nicely! We got it a week ago (thanks for the tip, Jean) and they do give you 5 Day Doubleentry - ask for that too.

The things is, they will accept applications on monday and wednesday, be there early, as they open 9.30 but theres lots of people waiting. They won't give you any form at the gate, you'll have to "order" that from here (sconsangobuja@gmail.com) in advance. They want two copies and it won't hurt if you bring along a copy of your car documents. Good luck!

Oh, talking of the DRC Visa. Does anybody know if it's available in Libreville?

cheers,
robin

Yes! We received five day transit visas for Angola in Matadi a few weeks ago -- late January 2009. They were issued in about one day. No letter of invitation was required ... but we did have to supply the names of aunts and uncles and disclose how much we paid for our respective passports.

Our transit thru Angola took six days. At the Namibian border, two of us were fined $75 USD each for overstaying the visa. For some reason I was let thru with a smile and no fine ...

Good luck.

Mark

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http://ridefar.typepad.com

Hi all

Ok, so we finally got our passports back from the Angolan embassy in Abuja, and although we'd explicitly asked for 2 entries, we were given 1. When I pointed out this would not allow me to pass through both Cabinda and Angola Mainland the embassy guy in Abuja said it's not a problem, we'd be allowed to pass through with this. I have my doubts!

Having heard from Jean Visser the DRC visa is available cheaply and quickly in Brazzaville we decided that we'd go the Brazza - Kinshasa route and laugh off Cabinda, not wanting to risk being turned away at the Angolan Mainland border, and having wasted our month-long Angolan visa on transiting Cabinda.

Angola Embassy Dolisie, Congo Republic
While in Dolisie, Congo, we heard there had been 4 trucks robbed at gunpoint by the Ninjas on the Dolisie - Brazza road, and so decided this route was perhaps not a good idea! We then met with the Angolan ambassador in Dolisie, explained our problem with the single entry Angolan visa, and he said he'd happily change the visa to 2 entries. The only problem is his visa section isn't yet working - he will be able issue Angolan visas in 1 month's time. He said he'd phone the Angolan ambassador in Pointe-Noire for us and get him to arrange the visa change for us.

Angola Embassy Pointe-Noire, Congo Republic
We have now arrived in Pointe-Noire and have been unsuccessful in even getting through the gate of the Angolan embassy! We are busy tracking down the contact details of the Angolan ambassador in Dolisie and will ask him to arrange us entry to speak to the ambassador here in Pointe-Noire. That should happen tomorrow.

If we fail to get a visa here we will probably end up using our month-long visa to get through Cabinda, and apply for a transit visa in Matadi and just laugh off spending any time in Angola. It's a pity but the bureaurocracy is such a nightmare and we have a deadline to be back in South Africa so have to try keep moving.

For those of you wanting to apply for Angolan visas here in Pointe-Noire they accept applications on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9am and 12pm.

DRC Embassy Pointe-Noire, Congo Republic
We went to the DRC embassy here in Pointe-Noire to try arrange visas, and were told that as South Africans we could get visas on the border. We were dubious about this, so have requested a letter from the DRC ambassador here in Pointe-Noire to show to the border officials saying we can get a visa at the border. They are doing this for us and we hope to get it tomorrow. It will cost 45000CFA per person. You should phone ahead to meet someone at the embassy, but we got there and got someone on the street to call, and they were there in 10 minutes.

I'll let you know if any of this is successful as and when it happens... at the moment we're enjoying chilling out at the Yacht Club in Pointe-Noire which is an absolute haven after Congo's awful roads. I'm writing this using their WiFi which is the first Internet we've used since Nigeria!

Adios, wish us luck!
Steve
www.overafrica.org

One month Angolan visa is real luxury, pity if you need to spend it in Cabinda.

There is also immigration office in Cabinda, where it may be possible to arrange something. Location of the office: S 5 ° 33.417', E 12 ° 11.577'

I went to this office to ask about visa for mainland and they also told me I don't need one, because 1 visa is for both Cabinda and mainland (by their words)! I spent a few hours there, guy made copies of my documents and told me he arranged everything. But basically he did nothing useful.

Ok, we went back to the DRC Embassy this morning and they gave us a formal looking letter giving us permission for a transit visa to be issued on the border. We paid 25000CFA each for the letter, and apparently this is for the transit visa so there won't be any fees on the border... we'll see about that!

For the Angolan visa we're still struggling. We've managed to get the South African Ambassador in Brazzaville on the case, and he's at the Angolan Embassy in Brazzaville as I write this trying to swing things for us. Apparently the Angolan Ambassador in Brazzaville is really pissed off with the Angolan Consulate here in Pointe Noire for being such a**holes to us... We've stood 3 days outside the consulate refused entry and unable to speak to anyone.

The SA Ambassador will attempt to get the Angolan Ambassador to arrange to allow us to transit Cabinda and use our 30 day visa for Angola mainland... Insh'Allah!

I'll let you know how we get along.

Cheers
Steve
www.overafrica.org

After a long fight with the Angolan embassy in Pointe Noire about letting us drive through Cabinda it has emerged they have very recently passed a law expressly prohibiting foreign vehicles to enter Cabinda.

It would seem the only west coast route open to overlanders is to drive Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, DRC - Matadi, DRC - Angola.

Be warned that the road from Dolisie to Brazzaville goes through the Poule region which is still subject to rebel activity and recently 4 trucks were hijacked at gun-point on this road. We were in Dolisie when this happened, and why we came to Pointe Noire to try drive through Cabinda instead of to Brazzaville.

We are now trying to get our truck onto a train from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville so as to be able to continue. The train is notorious for theft though, but we're stuck between a rock and a hard place here so will have to chance it...

My advice is to drive to Franceville in Gabon, and from there to Akou or Ndongo and into Congo and take the road south to Brazzaville. Don't take the main north/south road through Lambarene in Gabon to Dolisie in Congo as you may well have issues getting to Brazzaville from there. I can't comment on what the Akou or Ndongo border crossings are like, since I didn't go that way, but if you can get through it could well save you a lot of trouble down the road...

I've posted this on a couple of the forums to try and spread the word... this has become quite an issue for us. In the meantime our Congo visas have expired so we also need to try arrange for those to be extended. At the same time our DRC transit visas expressly name Cabinda as our entry point so now we'll need to change those to Kinshasa. No-one said Africa would be easy!

Hope this helps
Steve
www.overafrica.org