Visas in Addis

[vanshar]

Hey all,

I have just spent 2 weeks in Addis trying to get my visas and i thought some of the information will help others:

Egypt - a 30 day tourist visa (you need to enter within 90 days from the date of issue and then you have 30 days in the country) costs 690 birr (roughly $32) takes 2-3 days to issue and they need a receipt from an ATM or currency exchange showing where you got the money from. T4A location of the embassy is correct.

Sudan - i got a 2 week transit visa (you have to enter within 30 days of issue date) for $95 within 24h. For that i needed an onward visa (Egypt). T4A location is correct (close to Wim's Holland House and La Gare). I tried to get a tourist visa but the letter of invitation from a travel agency in Khartoum never arrived to the embassy (they send me a receipt showing it was sent but the embassy claimed they never got it). People at the embassy were very nice but inflexible but despite the fact that i went there 7 different times i had a good impression.

Somaliland - a 30 day visa (valid from the issue date) is $70 and the embassy has a new location: N 09.00092, E 038.78715 - it's in Medhanialem church district. You submit the application and money in the morning and get the visa same day.

Djibouti - a 30 day visa (valid from date of issue) is $85 for same day delivery (i think $70 for next day). The embassy is located at N 8 59.617, E 038 46.650 close to the Airport Road (sorry for the different coordinate format).

At none of the embassies i was asked to show the car registration/Carnet - simply because i did not tell them i would be driving in and i wasn't asked for the mode of transport. The only exception was Djibouti where you have to provide a flight ticket - i told them i would be driving in and they asked me to bring photocopies of CdP (front page and one of the empty internal pages), car registration and the special import document you get at the Ethiopian border.

Also in Djibouti embassy they ask for at least 1 day hotel reservation and they showed me a letter from Menelik Hotel confirming the booking as an example. Because i was too lazy i booked a hotel on booking.com and showed them the print out - they were _very_ unhappy about it but accepted it at the end because i had been to that embassy far too many times already. You may or may not be as lucky.

Also a note to everyone who is driving in to Ethiopia - apart from the Carnet they also give you a special import paper in Amharic/English where they write down the point of _exit_. If you then try to leave somewhere else they will turn you back (i've met two people who had this problem). If you want to change that while in the country - go to customs headquarters in Addis (on T4A and not far from Wim's Holland House) and they will do it. At Wim's there are people who know customs officials and can probably make the whole procedure smoother for you - just ask.

Once i come back from Somaliland and Djibouti i will post an update (oh, i have a 3-month multiple entry visa to Ethiopia from Berlin that i waited for at Jungle Junction in case it matters to anyone).

Take care and safe travels,

Andrzej

https://www.facebook.com/trekkingpolecom , Trekking Pole | Cape Town, South Africa to Deadhorse, Alaska

PS: Oh, and one more thing - i remember there was a note in Egyptian embassy that Americans and Canadians would have to wait 15 days for the same visa. I don't know why, i didn't inquire.