Hi, can anyone tell me the regulations on getting a Sudanese visa in Cairo for UK passport holders, is it a requirement to have an invite from Sudan or just to have an address of a hotel in Khartoum, we will be riding a BMW R80 and plan on taking the Lake Nasser ferry, Cheers, Chris

hello chris,

did you manage to get visas for the sudan in cairo?

Hi, no I am in Tallinn in Estonia at the moment, heading south after visiting Nord Kapp, should be in Cairo in October and will try to get visa then, any info any one has will be greatfully received. Chris and Gill

Hello Chris
went to the Sudan Embassy in London and they have told me that it is easier to get a visa in Cairo and they donot realy hassel bikers.I will be getting mine in October 20? as we want to go into Sudan in November.Good luck and keep us posted

Hi, good to hear what the Sudanese embassy said in London, we are now in Germany having covered 11,200 miles from Hampshire in 11 weeks via Nord Kapp and baltic states. Head south next week and hope to be in Cairo in October. When do you expect to be there. Chris and Gill

Chris, I guess you are the same Chris that emailed me a while ago.

Getting a Sudan visa in Cairo can take 24 hours if you are lucky - I was! If you need to add a bit of weight to your application, a guy called Ismat Mohamed at Julia Travel based in the Khartoum Hilton will support your case and smooth the way at the Khartoum end. It would be as well to see him right with a few dollars for his trouble when you get there.

Happy travels - Pat Watson

Hi Pat, yes I am the same Chris that emailed you a while back with a spot the part comp entry, I still recon I won, insider info or not. Thanks for the gen on the chap at the Hilton, I'll see how it goes. I'LL have a look at your web site when I get a chance and see where you have gotten to.
Cheers, Chris.

Hi Chris

I applied for a Sudanese visa in Cairo in October last year. Unsuccessfully as it turned out, but that needn't be the case. I was travelling on an Irish passport, but if anything I would have thought that would be in my favour.

Be prepared for a frustrating time though. I spent about three weeks to-ing and fro-ing from the embassy, which is absolute chaos and staffed by stereotypical disinterested bureaucrats. I never did find out why I didn't get mine - I was never actually refused, the reply never came through from Khartoum (which is where all applications are sent).

I met quite a few other Western travellers there who had also applied for their visas, all of whom got theirs eventually. Soul destroying to be left wondering why I never got mine as I witnessed other elated travellers.

A bunch of brits (kent2capetown.com) I had met had managed to get sponsorship through a rotary club connection, conveniently the Head of the Sudanese Tourist Board which smoothed the whole process for them, but they did still spend a lot of wasted time at the embassy in Cairo.

You do for sure need a letter of introduction from your embassy as part of the application process. Other than that you need patience and time, both in large doses.

I'm still fairly sure that my application is down the back of a radiator in Cairo somewhere....

Charlie

hello pat
we're travelling to Sudan very soon - we've been told it'll take at least four weeks to get a visa in london for sudan - costing £53 - how much was yours from cairo if you don't mind me asking? would you reccommend we get it in Egypt as oposed to before we go? cheers for any advice.
kathryn

hi,
things may be different now, but...

...in august/september/october/november 1999 i had my own trials and tribulations with sudan visas. essentially i was ignored in london, formally refused in germany and at the embassy in cairo, they 'lost' my application. it probably ended behind the same radiator as charlie's application.

try to apply in damascus and amman. maybe you'll have luck there.

i ended up airfreighting me and my bike from cairo to addis ababa. many people say the sudanese people are wonderful. i guess i'll never find out myself. and in the big scheme of things i'm not that sad about it either.
later
ChrisB

__________________

Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

Hi, we have just picked up our visas for Sudan at their embassy in Cairo 28 hours after applying, we had no trouble whatso ever except for their opening times, closed on Thursday but that may have been a one off. Staff helpfull and friendly, it may have helped that we already had our Ethiopian visas which was also no problem. Sudan cost $56 payable in Dollars only and Ethiopian visa cost $63 also in USD only. I was expecting chaos and turmoil at the embassy but it was all plain sailing. Regards Chris and Gill

I van verify the ease of getting this visa.
I was at the embassy at 10 this morning, gave them 4 photos and a letter from my Embassy and picked the visas up at 1500.
Valid for 1month.
As opposed to my 6 month wait in London, which received no response.
geoff