Must agree with you there as I would not think of doing something similar when visiting authorities back home either.


Ivory Coast visa in Monrovia, Liberia:

The Ivory Coast embassy (N6 17.397 W10 46.712) is located near Congo Town together with diplomatic institutions of several other countries. The secretary was a very kind woman and we only had to fill out one form, hand in 2 passport photos and pay 69US$/person for a 1 month single entry visa valid from desired date. We could pick up our visas on the next day in the afternoon. Theoretically the price is the same for a 3 day till 3 month visa.

Visas in Accra, Ghana:

Benin visa:
The embassy (N5 37.005 W0 11.195) is a bit hidden but still in the main area of diplomatic representations. A 14 day single entry visa costs 40Cedi (11,60€) and a one month multiple entry visa 80Cedi (23,20€). They tried to extract an extra fee for same day processing but gave up quickly so we could pick up our passports at 14:00. We had to fill out two times the same form and provide 2 passport photos.

Togo visa:
The embassy (N5 34.559 W0 10.698) is located away from other diplomatic representations but easily reached via the Ring Road. A one month single entry visa costs 35.000CFA (53,30€) and we were told that it is not possible to pay in another currency. We arrived late in the afternoon and bargained hard to pay an extra 10Cedi/person (2,90€) to get the visas issued immediately. Two identical forms had to be filled out and 2 passports photos handed over.

Angola visa:
The embassy (N5 36.736 W0 11.219) is located in the main area of diplomatic representations but not signposted. The staffs were friendly and professional but also strict on requirements to obtain a visa. Applications are only accepted on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:00-12:00 and visas can be picked up on Fridays. You actually keep your passport until Thursday when you have to come in to register fingerprints and pay the visa fee and thereby finish your application. The following is needed to obtain a one month single entry tourist visa:

3 passport photos with white (!) background
Filled out form provided by embassy
Passport copy
International driver license copy
Vehicle paper copy
Yellow fever certificate copy
Bank statement or copy of credit card (front suffices)
Letter of introduction explaining your situation and listing all the countries you will travel through
Itinerary describing your date of entry into Angola and places/sights you want to visit
Equivalent of 160US$ (116,80€) in Cedi (recently changed from US$ to Cedi)

Note that we were not allowed to place several copies on the same paper (e.g. driver license and yellow fewer certificate). The visa is valid for 2 months from date of issue which means you have to enter Angola before the expiry date and are then allowed to spend one month in the country. We tried everything to extend these 2 months or let them write down a later date of issue but to no avail. They were also not allowed to issue us with multiple entry visas which not long ago was still possible. On both matters several phone calls from different staff members were made with Luanda without results. As we want to enter into the Angolan enclave Cabinda first and do not want to use up our one month visa they provided us with a stamped and signed letter explaining our situation addressed to the Angolan consulates in Pointe Noire and Matadi. We will update later on the success or failure of us obtaining a transit visa for Cabinda.


For more information also on campings, fuel prices and so on feel free to visit our country info page. There you can also download a regularly updated PDF for quick offline access on the road.

Regards from Chez Alice in Lomé, Togo
Fabian

__________________
Traveling in an old 40s Land Cruiser around Africa
norbertsadventures.com / Facebook