Sudanese visa in N'djamena, Chad
 

Does anyone have any recent (i.e. post-embassy-reopening-in-2010) experience or info on obtaining a Sudanese visa in N'djamena, Chad?

I would love to know this too!!! Please anyone?

No, but I tried quite hard to come the other way (Sudan to Chad) and Chad wouldn't give me a visa in either Addis or Khartoum (earlier this year )and well connected Sudanese people said the border was firmly shut and dangerous...

Don't ask for the 2 month tourist visa as this has to be approved in Khartoum and takes 4 weeks. Try for a 15 day transit visa or something...

@RoamingYak, how long ago was this? I know the border was closed for a fairly lengthy period but reopened late 2010. Supposedly at least.

I got a 30-day tourist visa for Sudan in 2 hours in Cairo, but had no luck at all in Addis when attempting to come the other way. Chad visas are fairly straightforward in Niger, so the real issue, if trying to do this route, is the Sudanese visa (15 day transit would be fine) in N'Djamena.

Early 2012.

But I was told quite clearly at both Chad embassies that the border was closed (maybe they mean't to whities driving themselves) and they wouldn't entertain giving my a visa. I changed tactic and said I would fly giving credible excuses, but they refused to listen. Embassies are often wrong or outdated. But ou'd expect the embassy in Khartoum to know.

More importantly is this: Sudan has internal travel permits. If your in Sudan there is no way you can get anywhere near the Chad border without the correct permits. These I am guessing would be very hard to obtain (actually I think impossible at the time of writing but I like to offer a challenge!).

If you do enter from Chad I would expect a fairly frosty 'greeting' and maybe days of waiting to get permission to continue to Khartoum etc. You may be refused entry?

But I repeat, my (very high level) sources said it was closed and they couldn't get me permission to travel that way.

Where did you read the border was open?

My research indicates quite a few hundred km's of deeply rutted sand fyi.

Thanks for the info. Yes, when I last came through Sudan (2008) from North to South, the system of internal permits was a pain, and that's a fairly well-travelled route.

Originally I read that the border had reopened in 2010:

AfricaNews - Chad, Sudan reopen border crossing - The AfricaNews articles of Muhyadin

BBC News - Chad profile - Timeline

....but didn't pay too much attention until talking to some Chadian acquaintances here (I'm currently working in Saudi Arabia) who travelled here overland via Abeche and Khartoum for the Hajj, and insist the border is open and there are 'no problems' - of course, they're locals, and different rules may apply. The Chadian consulate here, however, also tells me the border is open and providing I have both a Sudanese and Chadian visa, I can cross. Again, of course, and as you so rightly say, embassies don't always have the right info....

I'm planning on arriving in N'djamena from Niger (and from Morocco/Mauri/Senegal etc before that) around late February and am wondering if the Sudan route is likely to be an option, v the Cameroon one which I'll likely take otherwise.

Sounds promising! If locals are crossing, then that is a good start, but then I doubt there is a huge fence all along the border stopping them....

In that case it depends on if you can travel through that part of Sudan (internal permits wise).... which is a tricky question to answer! Coming from Chad is more likely than being allowed to go from Sudan. As in your already at the border as opposed to the first checkpoint out of Khartoum so to speak.

I meet quite a few Pakistani UN police guys in Khartoum who work out there, they said it wasn't that safe, but doable, but foreigners weren't allowed etc etc etc

I would get the visa in your passport, get your passport in your pocket and then ask for a letter of permission from the embassy to cross the border and continue to Khartoum....?

Good luck!

That's pretty much my line of thinking - and again, thanks for the info. Coming the other way would be much trickier, with the internal permit system in Sudan, but as you say, once you're at the border, being asked to be allowed to go to Khartoum is more likely to be met with success that being allowed to travel out to Darfur/Chad from Khartoum.

Obviously, however, unless I can get a Sudanese visa in N'djamena, it's a non-starter. This is the question I'm still trying to find an answer on! :)