Visa Advice Africa

[Schoe000]

Starting to plan a trip from the UK to South Africa starting the 14th July 2022. Looking up the costs of the visas and it is £1000+ and if I go through a visa agency it is 3 times that price. I am a UK national.

My question is "is the cost of the visas cheaper at the borders rather than getting them in advance in the UK"

Thanks for any input cheers.

[mark manley]

I am reluctant to reply as it was 2007 when I headed that way so my information is out of date but that sounds like an awful lot although route obviously makes a difference. Back then I had to pay the following from memory, this is also for a UK passport, some nationalities paid less and some more.

Zambia $50US

Tanzania $50US

Kenya $50US

Ethiopia £40

Sudan £40

Egypt £40

The others were stamped into for free on arrival, I hope someone else will be along with more up to date information.

[CalDriver]

Our experience in Southern/Eastern Africa is that there is no difference in visa prices whether obtained beforehand or at the border. The prices are fixed.

We have never used a visa agent, so no comment on that front.

[Schoe000]

Hi Guys thanks for the replies.

[Alanymarce]

Originally Posted by Schoe000

Starting to plan a trip from the UK to South Africa starting the 14th July 2022. Looking up the costs of the visas and it is £1000+ and if I go through a visa agency it is 3 times that price. I am a UK national.

My question is "is the cost of the visas cheaper at the borders rather than getting them in advance in the UK"

Thanks for any input cheers.

It does seem expensive, although I have to vent my frustration at the fact that for our UK visa alone the cost was USD 1370, so I'm not as sympathetic as I might be if the UK visa was not so expensive!

Having got that off my chest - I concur that you'll save nothing by waiting until you reach the borders. You have a major advantage in having a passport with high mobility - you don't need visas for that many countries.

[Schoe000]

Country Visa Visa Cost
Benin Y £56.00
Cameroon Y £110.00
Congo, Democratic Rep Y £150.00
Cote d'Ivoire Y £65.00 Apply before leaving
Equatorial Guinea Y £100.00
Gabon Y £80.00
Gambia Y Visa on entry
Ghana Y £60.00
Guinea Y £70.00
Guinea-Bissau Y Get in neighbouring countries
Liberia Y £60.00
Morocco N
Namibia Y £110.00
Nigeria Y $144 or maybe £217
Senegal N
Sierra Leone Y £109.00
South Africa N
Togo Y £55.00
Mauritania Y £55.00 Visa on entry only

Just short of £1500 hope i have made a mistake somewhere and these are the minimum visas no double entry.

[markharf]

You may or may not have made a mistake—I have a US passport, and some stuff works differently for me—but it doesn’t look wildly out of line. I’d wonder why Algeria, since you can’t readily leave the country for anyplace else in particular, and I’d double check Nigeria, since that one does look extravagant.

FWIW, all are the same as or (mostly) cheaper than citizens of those countries would pay for a US visa….except that most would not be given visas at any price. If the same is true for the U.K., maybe that’ll help you feel better.

[bernd s]

Hi,

its almost 10 years ago, but at the leg from Gambia to Ghana along the coast local embassy fees were significantly lower than the European embassy fees. If I remember right, it was around half the price. On the contrary hanging around in capitals it not cheap either and traffic is typically pretty annoying.

However, if you get most of your visas at home you put yourself under massive time pressure due to the validity.

We used to do local visa runs for the next 3 to 4 countries. But take care, some countries like DRC require to issue it in your home country. Nevertheless, people manage it from time to time on the road.


Bernd

[Alanymarce]

Originally Posted by markharf

I’d wonder why Algeria, since you can’t readily leave the country for anyplace else in particular...

FWIW, all are the same as or (mostly) cheaper than citizens of those countries would pay for a US visa….except that most would not be given visas at any price. If the same is true for the U.K., maybe that’ll help you feel better.

My last Algeria visa was USD 73.17 at today's FX - it would have been closer to USD 100 at the time.

As noted, a UK visa is extremely expensive!

[Schoe000]

Originally Posted by markharf

You may or may not have made a mistake—I have a US passport, and some stuff works differently for me—but it doesn’t look wildly out of line. I’d wonder why Algeria, since you can’t readily leave the country for anyplace else in particular, and I’d double check Nigeria, since that one does look extravagant.

FWIW, all are the same as or (mostly) cheaper than citizens of those countries would pay for a US visa….except that most would not be given visas at any price. If the same is true for the U.K., maybe that’ll help you feel better.

Hi Mark yep made a mistake with Algeria it's not on our route. I have now found two different visa prices for Nigeria one at £217 and one at $144 US dollars. Been thinking about it I need 15 visas and I don't think I could get them all before leaving in July, I will run out of time some might have to prioritise which ones I get before we leave.
Thanks for the reply