No Ethiopian Visas in Nairobi.....Whats Going On!!!!
 

Hello Hubbsters....im in Kenya heading north and need my Ethiopian visa

But they are no longer issuing them here....maybe coz of the elections....

I am told i must send my passport back to UK to get a visa.....what a load of toss!!!!

Anyone got any advice...oh yea cant get it in Kampala either

Any ideas???

Hi,
I was in Nairobi a little while ago (going south) and everyone going north was stuck there trying to get their Ethiopian visas. All the Brits were sending their passports to the UK to get visas there, through various visa agents. It seemed to be the only option.
One Brit family headed of to Moyale in the hope of getting visas at the border, but no luck, they were back in a few days. (Lucky the road was ok at the time).
Only one traveller had any luck, a South African. He went to the S. African embassy for advice. It turned out the Consul there knew the Consul at the Ethiopian embassy, so made a phone call, wrote a letter, and the traveller got his visa.
May be worth going to the Brit embassy, quote the South African's experience and see if they will help. Although from what I hear, Brit embassies around the world seem to have a reputation of not being very helpful to Brit travellers.
Best of luck!

Hi
We just got our Ethiopian visa in Harare (Zim) just a few days ago.
Easy,took 24 hours for a group of 22 of us,so could do 1 or 2 in a few hours,30$ US,they even post dated it so it starts a few days before we get there.

Zim was cool, every thing in the shops and diesel every where for 1.05 $us

weve booked the barge for sudan - Egypt for the 4th of august if anyones keen to share
contact granthastie2002@yahoo.co.uk or africa@oasisoverland.co.uk if interested

cheers Grant

Ethiopian visa
 

Hi, is there any news about Ethiopian visa issued by the embassies in Nairobi or Kampala? I am just preparing my trip back, from South Africa to Europe and this visa problem is quite a disaster ...

Cheers, Mart

Are they still obtainable in Cairo ?????

No visa for overlanders
 

I called the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi and they assured me: the news is true. They only issue visa to residents in Kenya not to overlanders. They could not explain why visa are no longer issued to overlanders nor could they say wether or not it was a temperary restriction. So: the Ethiopian embassy in Harare is the only option for everybody going north trough east africa.

Mart Heijnens

FIY, it seems like we're a little ahead of you, but you'll probbaly overtake us. If you need some info on where you're going, check www.pictureafrica.org

Kampala?
 

Has anyone tried Kampala yet for the Ethiopian visa?

Taniya

I'm in Kampala at the moment and will phone the embassy tomorrow, however I have reliabel info that they also do not issue visas to non Ugandas any longer. If it is possible to obtain a visa here, I'll post accordingly.

Just to confirm:
No visas in Kampala or Nairobi. Coming from the south, Harare in Zim is your best bet. Otherwise, DHL like the rest of our poor sods! :funmeterno:

does any one know the reason why this is???

Yes...

aparently they were never supposed to issue them to anyonw who had an Ethiopian embassy in their home country. The previous ambassador was relaxed about it, but he got replaced earlier this year. That is where the change came.

Theoretically you should be able to get a visa on a Dutch passport (As example) becasue there is no Ethiopian embassy in Holland, but the new guy just won't budge.

Thanks
freeflyd

Thanks Freeflyd

Has anybody some good news? Or is it still not possible to obtain an Ethiopian visa coming from the south except in Harare? :thumbdown:

Hi Ronnie,any news on how to get the Ethiopian visa,we are 2 Canadians and 1 American heading that way from Johannesburg around May 2011.
Thanks

I am travelling from South to North and have only heard other overlanders stories so far. Apparenty all a nightmare and people either flying to their home countries to get a visa or DHLing their passports home.

I am currently in Rwanda and if anyone has been from south through the border please let us know.

Lastly does it make a difference if you have a SA passport??

Cheers

Unsuccessful!
 

June 26, 2014

Elliott (Australian) and I (Canadian) are currently in Nairobi and have been trying to get a visa to enter Ethiopia and so far we have been unsuccessful. They had taken all of our information and started the process but when we returned a few days later that said that it was not possible. Currently there are 3 other couples (Canadian, Australian, and Netherlands) who are also experiencing this same problem.

We have three options:
1. Mail our passports with the other required documents to an ethiopian embassy in our home country and then have them send it back or,
2. Fly into Addis Ababa where you can get a visa on arrival if you are on their approved list which you can find at Ministry of Foreign Affairs - MoFA or,
3. Go through South Sudan :-/

However we are travelling via motorcycle so flying is not an option for us. We had met people who succeeded in getting a visa only a few weeks earlier but for some reason something has changed and we were unable to. We think it is because of the shooting that happened on the coast in Kenya a few weeks ago.

Anyways hope this update helps. Cheers and safe travels!

CapeTownNorth.com.au

any news?
 

Hi,

Any new developments? I am heading that way in a couple of months, so appreciate any updates/solutions.

Cheers from Namibia,

Gee

visa for Ethiopia in Harare, Zimbabwe
 

Hi,

in 2010 the Ethiopian embassies in Kampala and Nairobi didn't issued visas anymore. The only embassy to get visa from was the one in Harare, Zimbabwe. I knew that so I went there for a visa. I could get a 6 months visa without problems. Keep in mind that the validity of the visa starts at the day of issuance and you have to leave the country before the visa expires.

Have a good trip

Hi Mart,

Thanks for the tip!

Cheers,

Gee

Where are you now in Namibia?

As I understand it, the Zimbabwe consulate has stopped issuing Ethiopia visas as well. Best proceed with caution and a backup plan rather than rely on 4-year-old information. Of course, I'm happy to be told otherwise.

Mark

Hi Margaret,

After traveling all around Namibia for nearly 5 weeks with my daughter (up to Epupa and down to Fish River Canyon), I am back in Windhoek waiting for my wife to join me on Saturday for another 4 weeks. Two months in Namibia: who's complaining :palm:
Then to Cape Town and up the East coast, back to Holland.

Cheers,

Gee

Thanks Mark,

I think the best thing to do is to apply in Holland (well, Belgium) using my 2nd passport.

Cheers,

Gee

Update
 

I'm not to sure about getting an Ethiopian Visa in Harare since I have not tried therefor I have no information on that. However all the people we have met here in Nairobi have all had to send their passports to their home countries to get an Ethiopian Visa unless you are flying into Ethiopia which then you can get a Visa On Arrival if you are on the approved list. This option however is not available to us Overlanders since we need to cross the boarder via land. We have met 7 other couples within the last 3 weeks and we all had to send our passports home. Anyways hope this helps.

CapeTownNorth.com.au

Hi,

Thanks for the extra info!

Cheers,

Gee

I have made contact with a reliable source in Ethiopia via Lonely Planet and he insists that they only issue visas if you fly into Bole and definitely not at Land borders anymore.
One thing he is not sure of is if this is a temp restriction ... or not, but to safeguard against being turned back from the border it seems the way to proceed is to obtain an Ethiopian visa from the embassy in SA.

Cheers
Reg

Gee
When are you heading out. A friend and I are heading toward Namibia around end December then proceeding up North. Not absolutely sure of the route yet as there seems to be many costs and obstacles at the moment so will have to make a call as we go.

Hi,

I'm traveling back to holland along the East coast, from August. If you want any info about the West route just send me an email. I drove from Morocco to Namibia (through the Guineas, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, etc. and had no real problems.

Cheers,

Gee

Excellent!!! Thanx

Just thought I would include a link here regards the new ruling for South African citizen looking to obtain Kenya visa at land border. :ban: :thumbdown:
This is not possible anymore
This rule kicked in from 1st July. Not make for happy reading.
SA travellers need visa for Kenya from July 1

can someone update with situation of 2015 in Kampala and nairobi?:welcome::welcome:

Here's a detailed account from 2014 by an American adv rider of struggles getting visas for Ethiopia and Sudan while in Kenya. Bottom line, he had to use DHL to get a visa for Ethiopia from the Ethiopian embassy in Washington. Sudan visa he got in Ethiopia through persistence and luck.

Suitcase Surfers of Kenya | bugsonmyboard

Out of Nairobi | bugsonmyboard

I'm doing the South Africa > Egypt ride later this year and not looking forward to the inevitable visa hassles...

The situation is that as off early 2016 onwards the Ethiopian Embassy in Nairobi IS ISSUING VISAS to travellers wanting to cross the Kenya/ Ethiopia border.

I personally know three people who have been issued them with very little trouble recently. I'll try and put up a post describing the process in the next few hours.


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