Information on DRC/Angola visas - Brazzaville/Kinshasa ferry
 

In trying to sort out that part of my overland route, I contacted the Hippocampe hotel in Brazzaville. Here was the response I got (posted here so others can benefit):

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About Angolan Visa : very difficult, nearly impossible to get in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire or Kinshasa.
Few weeks ago some travellers got it in Dolisie with the consul there but not sure it's 100% all the time. It may change at any time !
So, it's easier and better to apply in your home country.
About the DRC visa, now they also ask you to apply in your home country.
If not, they will not allow you to enter the country and they can cancel the Visa you have.
Still check on forum. Small borders are cheaper and easier. Cross the river between Brazzaville and Kinshasa is not a good idea for the moment.
If i hear about any new information i will let you know.
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Does anybody know how long it takes to get Angola & DRC visas in Brussels? Is it difficult? I would like to head off in June but worried any visa I get will expire before I get there.

I'm living in Brussels, but have Canadian and UK passports.... which is my "home" country do you think?

- Andrew

The best part about having a couple of passports is that you can make your home country the one that issues the visas the quickest at the cheapest cost:)

I'd try Belgium first since you could conceivably do it in person if they issue to residents of Belgium with foreign passports. Then the UK, then Canada as courier charges to and from can add significantly to the total cost.

Exactly my plan. I'm not sure I've left enough time for this though... :( when I first planned this trip a few years back I checked visas and didn't see too many issues. That seems to have changed since then and I wasn't paying enough attention. Ah well, will sort it out.

- Andrew

It can be useful to contact the visa agencies as well as they usually have an express service. In some cases, they charge fees for service not much faster than the consulate or embassy but for some problematic countries they do have the contacts as repeat customers that allows them to achieve shorter timelines than possible as an independant applicant.

But first stop is usually to research the timelines online and then try to contact them to confirm process and the availability of any faster service.

Good luck and hope it all works out.

Hi guys
We got throug with a visa form Doilisie 2 months ago. no hassle at all.
But as you say, things change all the time...


www.amsterdam2afrika.nl

We crossed from Brazzaville to Kinshasa. Its expensive with everyone wanting to charge for this and that and there's a lot of hassle, but if you've got a cool head it's quite an experience.

We had to do the crossing there as our DRC visa was expiring the next day, otherwise we might have crossed elsewhere. The fact that it was the rain season didn't help.

Hippocampe is right, we got denied the Angolan visa in Brazza and Kinshasa, although a group behind us got visas in Dolisie. We went through the DRC to Zambia.

I believe the Angolan visa is valid for 2 months if you get it in your home country. Europe to the Angolan border in 2 months is possible, depending on the seasons.

Regarding multiple passports, just be aware you may experience some issues with this. We travelled on both UK and South African passports. We had trouble at the Zambian border where we exited DRC on our UK passports and wanted to enter Zambia on our SA passports. The Zambians didn't agree to this as we didn't have an exit stamp from the DRC in our SA passports. We had to enter Zambia on our UK passports otherwise we would have been denied entry. We got round this at the next border crossing (Zambia to Malawi) by asking the friendly Zambians to give us an exit stamp in both our UK and SA passports.

Good luck, send my greetings to Olivier at Hippocampe if you make it there.

Adrian