Visa Africa

[RalEva]

Visa Infos etc. Afrika / Africa


<u>Visatabelle</u>
Die Visagebuehren können in den Botschaften normalerweise in lokaler Waehrung bezahlt werden. An den Grenzen in Ostafrika werden dagegen nur US$ angenommen.
Diese Informationen beziehen sich auf uns, die mit einem deutschem Reisepass unterwegs sind. Aber aehnliche oder gar gleiche Bedingungen gelten fuer Reisende aus den EU Laendern.
Wir sind von August 2004 in Marokko bis November 2005 in Djibouti in Afrika gewesen
Mostly you can pay the visas in local currency.
At the borders in Eastafrica they only accept US $ cash.
These information are from us, who travel with a german passport.
But the conditions for citizens from the EU are more or less the same.
We’ve been from August 2004 in Morocco until November in Djibouti in Africa.

Here some translations, it is too much work to do it for every country, sorry
Kosten/costs:
gekauft in/bought in:
Wartezeit/waiting time: Wochen/weeks, Tage/days, Stunden/hours, Minuten/minutes
Bilder/pictures:
Gueltigkeit/validity: Tage/days
Carnet de Passages: Nein/No, Ja/Yes


<u>Marokko - Morocco - Maroc</u>
kein Visum
kein Carnet
kein Konvoi

<u>Mauretanien - Mauretania </u>
Kosten:21 Euro
gekauft in: Berlin
Wartezeit: 2 Wochen
Bilder: 2Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 90 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Nein

<u>Senegal </u>
kein Visum
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Gambia </u>
kein Visum
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Guinea-Bissau - Guinee-Bissau</u>
Kosten: 7 Euro
gekauft in: Banjul
Wartezeit: 15 Minuten
Bilder: 2 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Guinea - Guinee</u>
Kosten: 30 Euro
gekauft in: Banjul
Wartezeit: 2 Stunden
Bilder: 0 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Mali </u>
Kosten: 25 Euro
gekauft in: Rabat
Wartezeit: 2 Stunden
Bilder: 2 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Burkina Faso</u>
Kosten: 20 Euro
gekauft in: Bamako
Wartezeit: 3 Stunden
Bilder: 3 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 90 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Ghana </u>
Kosten: 18 Euro
gekauft in: Bamako
Wartezeit: Mindestens 48 Stunden
Bilder: 4 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Nigeria </u>
Kosten: 60 Euro
gekauft in: Banjul
Wartezeit: 3 Tage
Bilder: 2 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Gabun - Gabon</u>
Kosten: 75 Euro
gekauft in: Lome
Wartezeit: 30 Minuten
Bilder: 2 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja
Besonderheiten: Bei der Einreise und Ausreise Kopie vom Pass und vom Visa erforderlich
Specials: if you enter and leave the country, you need a copy of your passport

<u>Demokratische Republik Kongo - DRC </u>
Kosten: 60 Euro
gekauft in: Lome
Wartezeit: 24 Stunden
Bilder: 2 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: ja


<u>Togo </u>
Kosten: 15 Euro
gekauft in: Grenze
Wartezeit: 1 Stunde
Bilder: Keine Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 7 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja
Verlaengerung: 80 Cent für 30 Tage, 4 Bilder, Wartezeit 24 Stunden
Extension: *0 Cent for 30 days, 4 pictures , waitingtime 24 hours

<u>Benin </u>
Kosten: 15 Euro
gekauft in: Grenze
Wartezeit: 1/2 Stunde
Bilder: Keine Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 48 Stunden
Carnet de Passages: Ja


<u>Kamerun - Cameroun</u>
Kosten: 75 Euro
gekauft in: Calabar
Wartezeit: 1 Stunde
Bilder: 3 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja
Besonderheiten: - Wenn Visum für Nachfolgeland im Pass, dann einfacher
- Kopie von Fahrzeugpapieren und vom Pass erforderlich
Specials: - It is easier, if you have the visa for the next country
- you need a copy of your passport and vehiclepapers


<u>Kongo - Congo</u>
Kosten: 75 Euro
gekauft in: Libreville
Wartezeit: 24 Stunden
Bilder: 3 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja

<u>Angola </u>
Kosten: 90 Euro
gekauft in: Libreville
Wartezeit: 1 Tag
Bilder: 2 Bilder
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: nein
Besonderheiten: Doppelte Einreise, nach Cabinda (Enklave) und spaeter Angola
Specials: Double Entry, for Cabinda (Angola) and Angola

<u>Namibia</u>
Kein Visum
Aufenthalt 90 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja, gilt fuer die gesamte suedafrikanische Zollunion
Carnet is valid for the whole southafrican customsunion
Besonderheiten: 70 N$ fuer eine Art Roadtax an der Grenze zu zahlen
70 N$ for roadtax, pay at the border


<u>Suedafrika - South Africa</u>
Kein Visum
Aufenthalt 90 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja, gilt fuer die gesamte suedafrikanische Zollunion
Carnet is valid for the whole southafrican customsunion, no need to stamp again


<u>Mosambik - Mocambique </u>
Kosten: 10 Euro
gekauft in: Nelspruit
Achtung neue Adresse vom Konsulat:
22 Bell Street, in der Naehe vom ABSA Building
(an der Grenze kostet das Visa 25 Euro)
Wartezeit: 2 Stunden
Bilder: 1 Bild
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Grenzgebuehr / Tax pro Person: 1,40 Euro
Carnet de Passages: Nein
Es wird eine temporaere Einfuher fuer 30 Tage an der Grenze ausgestellt
Kosten: 1,20 Euro pro Motorrad
Versicherung fuer Mosambik pro Motorrad erhaeltich an der Grenze.
Kosten: 10 Euro fuer 30 Tage
No Carnet, you get a specialpaper at the border, that costs 1,20 Euro.
Insurance for Mosambique necessary, you get it at the border for 10 Euro

<u>Lesotho</u>
Keine Visum
Kein Carnet

<u>Swaziland</u>
Kein Visum
Kein Carnet

<u>Malawi</u>
Keine Visum
Carnet: Ja
Und Versicherung fuer die Motorraeder, aber wir haben unsere eigene, die gilt hier auch!!
Insurance necessary, we made our own.

<u>Tansania - Tanzania</u>
Visum: An der Grenze 50 US $ cash!! 90 Tage - AT THE BORDER
Carnet: Ja
Und Versicherung fuer die Motorraeder, aber wir haben unsere eigene, die gilt hier auch!!
Wechselt man innerhalb von Kenia, Tansania und Uganda die Grenzen, so muss KEIN neues Visum bezahlt werden!!!!
Es wird auch schon mal eine Roadtax verlangt, wir hatten Glueck und mussten nix zahlen.
Insurance necessary, we made our own.
If you travel inside Kenia, Tanzania and Uganda, you need only one visa for each country, you don’t have to get a new one!!!
Sometimes they ask for roadtax, we didn’t pay that.

<u>Kenia - Kenya</u>
Visum: An der Grenze 50 US $ cash!! 90 Tage – AT THE BORDER
Carnet: Ja
Und Versicherung fuer die Motorraeder, aber wir haben unsere eigene, die gilt hier auch!!
Wechselt man innerhalb von Kenia, Tansania und Uganda die Grenzen, so muss KEIN neues Visum bezahlt werden!!!!
Es wird auch schon mal eine Roadtax verlangt, wir hatten Glueck und mussten nix zahlen.
Insurance necessary, we made our own.
If you travel inside Kenia, Tanzania and Uganda, you need only one visa for each country, you don’t have to get a new one!!!
Sometimes they ask for roadtax, we didn’t pay that.

<u>Uganda </u>
Visum: An der Grenze 20 US $ cash!! (Studententarif) 60 Tage - AT THE BORDER
Carnet: Ja
Und Versicherung fuer die Motorraeder, aber wir haben unsere eigene, die gilt hier auch!!
Wechselt man innerhalb von Kenia, Tansania und Uganda die Grenzen, so muss KEIN neues Visum bezahlt werden!!!!
Es wird auch schon mal eine Roadtax verlangt, wir hatten Glueck und mussten nix zahlen.
Insurance necessary, we made our own.
If you travel inside Kenia, Tanzania and Uganda, you need only one visa for each country, you don’t have to get a new one!!!
Sometimes they ask for roadtax, we didn’t pay that.

Wechselt man innerhalb von Kenia, Tansania und Uganda die Grenzen, so muss KEIN neues Visum bezahlt werden!!!!

<u>Aethiopien - Ethiopia</u>
Kosten: 20 Dollar oder 1660 Ksh
gekauft in: Nairobi
Wartezeit: 1 Stunde
Bilder: 1 Bild
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Carnet de Passages: Ja , wurde aber nur von der Botschaft in Nairobi verlangt, als wir das Visum beantragt haben.
An der Grenze wurde uns kostenlos ein aethiopisches Zolldokument ausgestellt.
Die Botschaft verlangt 2 Fotokopien vom Carnet und vom internationalen Fuehrerschein.
Die Originale wollen sie auch sehen!
Carnet: The embassy in Nairobi wants to see that.
At the border we got a specialpaper, but they wanted to see the carnet
The embassy wants to have 2 copies of the carnet and from the international driverliscence.

<u>Dschibuti - Djibouti</u>
Kosten: 25 Euro
gekauft in: Addis Abeba
Wartezeit: 3 Stunden
Bilder: 1 Bild
Gueltigkeit: 30 Tage
Empfehlungsschreiben der deutschen Botschaft wird verlangt. Das kostet 20 Euro pro Schreiben, das fuer uns beide ausgefuellt wurde.
Carnet de Passages: Ja


<u>Versicherungen - Insurance</u>
[b]Für Mauretanien / mauretanien holten wir uns in Nouakchott für 10 Tage eine Versicherung, die kostete etwa 14 Euro.
In Nouakchott / Mauretanien schlossen wir ebenfalls eine Versicherung für den Senegal ab, auch ca. 14 Euro, um dies nicht an der Grenze zu einem weit höheren Preis machen zu müssen.
In St. Louis/Senegal besorgten wir uns die Carte Brune für 4 Monate um 40 Euro. Diese Versicherung von AXA soll bis einschliessich Kongo gelten.
Und Versicherung fuer die Motorraeder, aber wir haben unsere eigene, die gilt in vielen Laendern!

Versicherung fuer Mosambik pro Motorrad erhaeltich an der Grenze.
Kosten: 10 Euro fuer 30 Tage

For Mauretania we bought the insurance in Nouakchott / Mauratania for 10 days, 14 Euro.
In Nouakchott / Mauretania we bought an insurance for Senegal, 14 Euro, to avoid to pay much more at the border!!!
In St. Louis / Senegal we bought the Carte Brune for 4 months, 40 Euro.
It was valid until Congo.
Later (for eastafrica) we made our own insurance


<u>Grenzen - borders</u>
Nur die Grenze Mauretanien / Senegal war wirklich korrupt:
Ausreise Mauretanien:
Die Polizei wollte US $ 5, der Zoll US $ 5, Tax US $ 1

Einreise Senegal:
Brückenzoll € 5, Polizei US $ 5, Zoll nix

- bbb
- Im Endeffekt alles Schmiergeld, wir bezahlten insgesamt jeder ca. € 20, was wohl immer noch zu viel war, doch es gibt Leute, die mussten € 80 pro Person berappen!!!
- Also nicht so schnell das Geld springen lassen und Gelassenheit zeigen!!
- Die Beamten fragen sehr oft nach einem "Cadeaux" (Geschenk), meistens reicht es schon, eine Zigarette mit den Beamten zu rauchen.
- Bei allen Grenzen gilt, nicht unter Zeitstress einreisen, d.h. kurz vor Feierabend, oder gar an Sonn- und Feiertagen!! Das kostet fast immer Extra!!

Only the border between Mauretania and Senegal was really corrupt.
Leaving Mauretania:
Police: 5 US $, Custom: 5 US $, Tax: 1 US $

Entering Senegal:
Bridgetoll: 5 Euro, Police: 5 US $, Customs: nothing

In the end it was all not official.

For all the borders:
- Don’t pay to early, bargain hard, but smart
- Keep cool and take your time
- Sometimes they want a “cadeux” (present)
- Smoke a cigarette together
- Don’t travel under stress of time, come early
- Sometimes you have to pay some money for the weekends or holidays


------------------
Best wishes
:-)
RalEva

http://www.Motorradnomaden.de
around the world on 2 motorcycles

The homepage has a translation service!!

[beddhist]

Thanks guys, I have updated the Carnet Page

[javierCarrion]

Hi !!
Sorry , but I think the carnet-requiring list is wrong.

So far .. in Africa only Egypt , Ghana and -depending on the mood- Senegal- REQUIRES carnet de passage. All others provide alternative means of entering .

you can use a carnet in -say- Gambia , but definitely you can enter Gambia without .

At least :

Gambia , Guinea , Guinea bissau , Togo , Nigeria , Mali , Burkina , Cameroon, Benin , and probbably Gabon are wrongly stated as requiring carnet *whereas* Its being known and proved that you can enter these countries without it.

So the list should be something like :

Countries REQUIRING CDP:

->Egypt , Senegal (>5 y.o.) , Ghana

Countries ACCEPTING CDP:

->All countries of Africa , so far.


Javier

[beddhist]

Ralf & Eva, can you clarify this?

Javier, if you are sure, then go ahead and edit the page. I have relied on the above info to update the page.

[RalEva]

Dear travellers,

we tried to avoid to use the Carnet, if it was possible!!!
But instead of the Carnet, you can get at some borders a "laisser passes", but you have to pay for it!!!!
So we decided to take the Carnet, which was always without any costs, except Mauretania-Senegal border.
Maybe you can do a few countries without a Carnet after negotiating a few hours.
We had the Carnet, so we used it, when they asked for it!!!
We think, it makes the travelling in Africa much easier to have one!!

------------------
Best wishes
:-)
RalEva

http://www.Motorradnomaden.de
around the world on 2 motorcycles

The homepage has a translation service!!

[mika]

hello,

we travelled about the same places as Ralf and Eva in 2004 and 2005, and we used German and Swiss passports and Carnets for the bikes.

I can fully agree with this list of requirements.

We also tried not to use the carnet, but than they always wanted to charge their fees and we did not pay. So in the end we used the carnet, for free. Except this f... border between Senegal and Mauritania.

So, I am sure if you dont have a carnet and you dont want to use a fake one, it is possible to enter most countries. Yes, maybe except Egypt ...

Thanks Ralf and Eva for putting this here for other travellers.

mika

------------------

[javierCarrion]

I think that what really interest people is if there's any country to which entering is impossible without a carnet.


Of course you can use a carnet in most (most) of the countries , but the real interesting issue is that if you can enter a country Without it .

and yep. For all countries EXCEPT EGYPT , GHANNA , and maybe SENEGAL , you can buy a lazzerpasse / passavant/salvoconducto for around 5-10 euros. It is not that you must bribe your way in . It is just that you must pay 10 euros for the paper. Same as locals do. (and they do !) . Some countries do it for free (Morocco ) , and some charge a little money on it (Mauritania) .

Anyone can tell a story about a carnet being required to enter Mauritania , or Mali ,but the fact is that you can enter Mauritania , Mali ,Burkina and all the other countries by adquiring a -reasonably priced- 5-10 euros laisse passe (and even with a carnet , some people are asked to pay it anyway).

So , pls , stop scaring people about the carnet being needed . For a motorcycle It may be little money , but for most people , It may be the difference beetween doing the trip or not . And these posts are absolutely misleading about the requirements. We are not discussing the possibility of using the carnet . We are talking about the compulsoriness (sp?) of it.

Honestly , The carnet is just an outdated expensive piece of paper , to which most countries are ignoring it , or simply not knowing what to do with it. Skip the carnet , and travel as most people do , by adquiring lazze-passes (5-10 EUR) , with the added benefit that if you lose/destroy/got stolen your vehicle .. at least you don't lose the deposit .

I can't see the point on issuing a carnet (200 EUROS) + Warranty + Banking charges , etc.... to just avoid paying 5-10 euros for every country to enter.


If you are happy with this I can make a definite trusted/checked list of which countries you can enter without a carnet , and which ones you will definitely not get into without it .

Javier

[beddhist]

<font face="" size="2">The carnet is just an outdated expensive piece of paper , to which most countries are ignoring it , or simply not knowing what to do with it.</font>

In Africa, perhaps. In Asia there are still quite a few countries where you must have it. Unfortunately.

If you have definite info on where it is required, then please do go ahead and edit the carnet page.

[RalEva]

Dear Javier,
Thanx for your posting.
Our list is just an information for people, especially for those on motorbikes.
Nothing with warranty or so!! And specially not in Africa!!!!
Believe us, we tried the best to avoid to use a Carnet!!
But if we have one, and they want to see it, we prefer to use it, instead of paying extra costs for “laissez passer”!
We don’t like this piece of paper like everybody!!!
And we are not using it “Just for fun”!!!
For example, we travelled from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego without it, because you don’t need it there!!!
But there are still people, who use the Carnet in countries, where you don’t need a “Special Paper” to enter!!
We travelled around Africa and further around the world, so we definitely need a Carnet de passages, I’m sorry for that.
And for now, we still can recommend that, because a lot of countries want to see a paper like that!
Maybe other people made other experiences in all the countries, than we did!!
So please post them here!!!!
That’s for the HUBB Forum is good for!!!!
Maybe there are travellers out there, who did whole Africa or the world without a Carnet??
Post it here, right now!!!
Together we are strong!!!


------------------
Best wishes
:-)
Ralf & Eva

http://www.Motorradnomaden.de
around the world on 2 motorcycles

The homepage has a translation service!!

[mika]

Javier you are right !

Why do we still use the carnet ?

Because people recommend them.

I just had an argument with a swiss traveller maybe two weeks ago because he said it is better to have a carnet for South America. I travelled two years in South America and used an expired Carnet only to enter Argentina at BsAs airport, but it would have been possible without the Carnet. It is not better having the carnet, it is just more expensive and maybe saves you a minute at a border.

So, we should stop recommending and using Carnets in Countries were it is possible to enter without.

But, for us it was the same as for Ralf and Eva, we had the carnet and we did not want to pay the 5-10 Euros each at every border, so we used the carnet.

Ralf, you should write on your website that entry is possible without the carnet, but that you used a carnet.

If we would all stop using the outdated stupid and expensive Carnet we could gain a lot more freedom.

And in a few years time nobody would ask anymore ... or is it just my dream ...

mika

------------------

[Frank Warner]

Originally posted by mika:
Ralf, you should write on your website that entry is possible without the carnet, but that you used a carnet.

There needs to be some information on the costs of not using the carnet, so people can estimate if the carnet is worth the cost over the number of countries they will visit.

Estimations of time are much too variable - they change with the temperature, time of day, the effects of the previous meals consumed etc.

[javierCarrion]

Hi people!!!
Sorry , I didnt made clear that I only meant Africa . I am aware that in South America a carnet is more "required" and in most Asia is definitely compulsory.Without Carnet you can not Cross Asia , that's right .

>*my fault , as I keep thinking on this board as Sahara-overland's extension , and limited only to Africa*.<

Well , back to Africa... for sure you can roam it with no carnet and no hassle (other than these 3 countries , Sen ,Ghana , and Egypt) .

Also for most countries .. there's no difference on having (or not) a Carnet , as some countries still force you to buy a Laizepasse even while carriying a Carnet. (Eg, Guinee) .

But , as on average , in Africa a Passavant/Lasse Passe costs a average of 2500 CFAS /5 Euros , with some exceptions of 10Euros in Mauritania.

Also some countries force you to pay , either for Stamping the Carnet , or for Stamping the PAssavant .. so a Carnet is obviously no advantage at all.

and yep .. every year .. less and less people carry it . I find (travelling with people which got CArnets) more and more customs' officers that they don't know what the **** a carnet Is !!.

My point is that the "carnet-required-in-Africa" legend feeds itself by the stories of people overestimating the usefullness of it . (Most people do a significant expense on it -specially big trucks/4wd- and It is quite hard to realise that It is absolutely useless.

Most people ends up telling -back home- that only thanks to that ultra-expensive doccument they could enter here and there , etc..etc..

I don't know how expensive a carnet is in the States ,but in EU , it goes for around 300 Euros plus a sizable ammount of the brand new value of the vehicle (for a bike that's 1000 Euros but for a big overland-truck , the indenmity may cost more than a house! ) , plus a messy and time consuming banking paperwork .for God's sake!


you can cross all the countries in Africa paying 10 Euros each passavant /border and still be saving money ! /. and without risking the whole deposit.

Javier

[beddhist]

<font face="" size="2">I am aware that in South America a carnet is more "required"</font>

No, carnet is not required anywhere in America.

[2SA]

Originally posted by javierCarrion:

you can cross all the countries in Africa paying 10 Euros each passavant /border and still be saving money ! /. and without risking the whole deposit.

Javier

I wonder if you could tell us how far south down you can go without a carnet, Im headed to SA and this would make or break the trip for me if I had to use this piece of outdated colonial piece of junk of controlling people, its my dream to drive back to SA through Africa and suprise my mum who is returning but I havnt told her what Im doing, a big suprise waits for her, my ex girlfriend(not for long) knows my plans.

Cheers
2SA

[Bossies]

So with our trip from London to CT via middle East and Egypt we could be able to actually do the whole trip without Carnet but as Egypt is compulsary we have to get the Carnet anyway. Might just dump Egypt off the route for that matter.

Unless we just get a "preloved" carnet and use it to get in and out of Egypt.

[This message has been edited by Bossies (edited 05 April 2006).]