Hi there. Spaniard here, year two of my motorcycle RTW trip. Yesterday I went to the Ethiopian embassy to get instructions on what to do to get my transit visa back in Spain (I was ready to DHL my passport to Madrid, since all forums informed that it's not possible to get a visa in Nairobi unless you are Kenyan). One thing led to another, and I got clear instructions on how to properly apply for it here.

I was informed right away that they were not issuing TOURIST visas, but I replied that I wanted a TRANSIT one and that my situation was unusual. I queued for about 20 minutes and met someone with authority. The woman in charge analyzed my defunct passports with all the visas of the countries visited, listened to my story, handed me a visa application form, and asked for a photocopy of my passport, a photo, and a letter stating my intentions (se said "an official letter").

Since my strategy with complex or unpredictable bureaucracies is thinking ahead of them and drowning them with far more documents than they ask for, I rushed to a cybercafe and a couple of hours later I handed her a photocopy of:

- My passport.
- My carnet de passages.
- A few visas of remote countries, stating that I have been travelling for a very long time.
- A letter from the bank stating that I am financially independent.
- Yellow fever vaccines.
- International insurance.
- My route so far printed from Google Maps.
- My intended route in Ethiopia.
- The letter telling my story.

She analyzed the documents, asked me to make a deposit of 20 USD in a bank and to come back with the proof of payment. I left my passport by 2 PM in the embassy and picked up my visa next day at 9 AM.

BINGO.

I hope this helps.

That's interesting. How long did you get?

Currently in DRC i just thought abouot this problem yesterday, going back through Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia to Soudan. Problem is, two Visa agencies tell me that without flight booking I cannot get a visa in Berlin, which is pretty stupid vor overland travellers. Could you go there and ask if they are willing to do this again for somebody who left germany over a year ago and travelled 19 countrys by road ? Would save me a big headache. Thanks !

greetings from Kinshasa

Chris

Hi,

Wow not bad...sometimes it realy helps to be friendly and talk to people

Travel save, Tobi
Transafrika - Motorbike travel tour through africa part 1

The visa is 1 month long, counting from the day issued. Wich shouldn't be a problem, since I will be departuring next week -if Sudan issues its visa, they seem to be a bit more picky than Ethiopia now-.

chris.perjalanan: I will do my best, but I don't promise anything, since I am facing my own personal battle with the heat and Sudan's embassy. I have to say though, that I saw several passports being stamped from different nations, including Eire. I will keep you posted if I can show up there.

Thanks for the info. We (from the UK) got our Sudanese visas in Nairobi and they were issued the same day - no hassles. We were first in at 9am and collected them at 3pm. This was last July.