Heading north, Angola and DRC visas ?
 

Hi there,

I am currently in Lusaka, Zambia, but on my way to Cape Town.
The plan is to travel north as far as Douala, Cameroon, from South Africa.
Has anyone been successful or heard of someone who had been in getting both the Angola and the DRC visas while in S.A or Namibia ?
I am a E.U pasport holder.
Here in Lusaka the Congolese denied my application since I am not a resident of Zambia.
Thanks and happy trails.

Levelo.

i did hear that Lusaka was the best place to getr the DRC visa, so i dont know....to get the Angola vias is a pain for non residents...probley faster and easyer to contact a agency in your home EU country ( london only processes uk and irealnd residents)

i belive its sometimes possable to arange the angola visa in capetown via the agency that work witht the flamingo lodge in angola. ( check out the lodge site for info) but its probley easyer and cheaper to send your passport to europe....as you need to book acomidatrion in the lodge and its expensive

drc...i have no idea about......have you considerd becoming a reident in zam...i dont know if its possable, but it may be...its possable in togo thats how we got our drc visa

Just look how other did it on the west route recently:

Here i try to maintain a list of travellers who have a website/blog

Trans-Africa: Gerade Unterwegs...

Most travellers do it the oposite way - downwards... But at leat one did it too upwards recently, a swiss guy.

Angola should be available on the way, the DRC one is more complicated.. Also when you are able to optain them - the border guys want that the visa is issued in your homecountry...

Maybe not that helpful, but here is also an article about Visas on the west: 4x4tripping: Westroute Afrika, aktuelle Visa Situation 2013

There are many backlinks to the Hubb - so the use of the search function will bring you the informations too ;-)


Surfy

Cape Town was the only option a year or two ago when heading north - search this site as I posted a lot about it previously, as did others. In a nutshell, don't do it yourself, they are awful.

There was a Portuguese or Angolan guy who would do it for you - speaking Portuguese in the embassy saves hours and hours of waiting…

American lady with an English school will do the letter of invite for $80 - much cheaper than other options…?

Google search like this (copy the following into your browser address bar):

site:http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ angola visa cape town

and change the words on the end.

DRC - all change in the last few years. Did you stand your ground politely, look like you were going to cry, explain patiently the same things 27 times in the embassy?? Did you request a meeting with the Ambassador to discuss his difficult problem? Or did you look into getting temporary residence in Zambia?

Once you get away from the ease of East & Southern Africa you need to be very politely firm - and annoying enough where they want to help you to go away, as opposed to banning you from the embassy ;-p

Thanks for your feedback.
I did not insist very much at both the Angolan and DRC Embassies in Lusaka but it is always interesting to find out what their official requirements are . Just testing the waters really : I am cycling down to Cape Town where I am hoping to get sometime in mid or late March ( currently getting rained on in Vic Falls ). I will try my luck there but for me, as a cyclist, the validity of the visas will be a problem even if I am successful ( it is at the very least 3 000 kms from Cape Town to the Namibia-Angola border, 2 months in the saddle ). My best bet is definitely to apply in Namibia. I know that it is easy enough to pick up both the DRC and RoC visas in Windhoek. Someone I am in touch with just got them very recently without too many hassles. He also managed to get his Angolan visa there in 3 days with a letter of invitation which I will need and will have to get. But maybe the Angolan consuls in either Rundu or Oshakati will waive that requirement too, who knows...

I was at the border in Ruacana Falls this week and denied entry because of no letter of invitation. I have a US passport. They said to try at Oshikango but after speaking with alot of locals here, I decided not to try. The rainy season will begin soon and all roads that are not paved will be inaccessible (according to locals here at the border).

Wishful thinking will get you into trouble.

Angola processes all visas in Luanda. Embassy staff have no ability to give you anything. Extremely well connected people I know could only get a 7 day transit coming south for example.

The consul in Oshakti is more of a military contact and will say yes and then delay and delay, pushing up the price for a not wholly official visa - expect to pay around 400 Euros in the end. This was my friends experiences (who speak perfect Portuguese) a few years ago. I very much doubt you will get a visa there when they are all supposed to be issued from Luanda….

Visas are checked in the country and I know of a few groups who have 'camped' by the police station for a night or two whilst the local police have checked them out.

In case its not obvious, the Angola gov doesn't want you to go, they don't care about your trip, or you as a person, they will look at you in the embassy as a scruffy traveller and based on that decide not to help you. They are maybe the worst country in Africa for getting a visa?

Shave, have a hair cut and dress up when you go to an embassy - they really are very fickle about this - I was denied entry to the embassy in Cape Town one day despite looking quite smart by overlanding standards….

So again, search the previous threads, there is some very solid info in there, then see what has changed since and act accordingly….

With Angola you are unlikely to be able to wing it, plan, research and then prepare to make endless pointless photocopies and trips to the embassy and you might be lucky…. ;-)

Good luck…

(that all said, I found the people there really nice and the police at roadblocks very friendly and helpful, so I tried to go back for a longer visit, hence I have knowledge of applying twice for visas, north and south of Angola ;-)

Things change fast in Africa...
With a letter of invitation in hand one guy I am in contact with got his Angolan visa within 3 days in Windhoek. He was not a Namibian resident.
On LP's Thorntree forum 2 guys posted to say that they got their ordinary, tourist visas without letters of invitation at the consulate up in Oshakati in October 2012.
Just wanted to have confirmation of this with someone who's tried recently.
RDC and RoC visas seem to be easy to pick up in Windhoek, too.

I've been trying to get into DRC for months, starting from the East where it was unsafe to pass and decided to come back down in Lusaka from Kenya. I've just been denied entry into the DRC, and barred reentry into the embassy for being persistent (4 days in a row I appeared). I tried everything, handing over passport with money hidden in a page, making friends with the other Congolese in the embassy who were more than welcoming. I even pointed at the poster that said "Tourism R.D.C" - saying I wanted to go there. nothing.

My Zambian Visa expires Jan 15, so I think it is out of the question to get an Angolan one in such time due to Xmas and the fact that its going to take me 7-8 days to get to the Namibian Border, where I will try in Windhoek for either the DRC or the Angolan Visa, that is about as far south as I want to move as I actually started in Cape Town over 2 years ago.

Any information regarding the letter of invitation or contacts would be appreciated for either DRC/Angola.

Regards, Dave

Try Nancy, a friendly and helpful American who runs a language school/guest house in Benguela. Her email is nancysschool at gmail dotty com
Welcome to Nancy's English School and Guest House.

Was $80 a few years ago - bare in mind it is quite a lot of hassle and bullshit for her, and sending the fax costs about $30...

Dress up smartly for the embassy - they didn't like the look of me and refused me entry to the embassy a few days running (Cape Town).

Update: Have got a hold of Nancy - It's now about $140 due to different fees and has to account for a driver to get into Luanda and such. No Big deal.

Was to get from Lusaka, had a positive experience at embassy where they asked for Letter of Invitiation, and Declaration Letter (Rough plan where I'm going, that sort of thing) along with $100. Seemed easy enough and very helpful. Sadly, it takes 15 business days, which I don't have. Cycling into Windhoek for the end of January and will try there.

Hey Tiredofit,

I am also cycling. Currently riding my way south to Cape Town where I hope to be in a couple of months ( I am in near Nelspruit in RSA ).
Then hopefully back up to Namibia where I will try my luck in Windhoek.
Would you be kind enough to keep (me ) us posted regarding the issuance of the Angolan and DRC visas in Windhoek ?
I will apply myself later in the year.
Happy trails,

Levelo.

Hey guys,

To overcome the difficulties of the DRC visa it is possible to take a ferry from Soyo, Angola which will bring you to Cabinda and after that to Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo. Still you need the Angola visa.

This is the road we are going to take in about two months coming from the North. Currently there is a guy on a pushbike heading south who did this road. It's a French guy and not a member of the HUBB.

Cheers

I am now in Windhoek, and after 4 days trying to chase down the Consular I finally have been told I can get my visa through Namibia for 350 NAD ($33 USD), although they can't do anything without a Letter of Invitation.

I've failed with AA Safaris, (she played like she didn't know anything when I emailed, and trying to find a better way than $140 through Nancy which I think is a bit high. Will try for a Hotel and start the search today).

I know of the pushbike cyclist heading down - I've been asked to not speak about his Angolan Visa details until he exits, but he received it in Brazzaville. Will just say it seems alot easier coming from the North.

Okay Tiredofit, good luck and let me ( us ) know how you fared with the invitation letter and the Angolan and Congolese visas in Windhoek. Would really appreciate it.
Currently in gorgeous Lesotho, have just tackled all the high mountain passes in the east of the country.
Be safe, L.