VISAS

Obtaining visas in order to travel overland from Morocco to Cape Town is the major challenge of this trip. On this page, I hope to give as complete information on getting visas as I can. Information is sparse and most travellers doing this trip have been relying on www.horizonunlimited.com, a travel blog/forum. But visa information is in a constant flux as staff at embassies and country requirements change frequently. Prices change frequently and go up often on a yearly basis. Few are cheap and most cost in the 100$ range.
One couple traveling this route visited every embassy in each country they traveled through and were able to obtain the necessary visas. That would be onerous but one way to make it all happen.
Download the appropriate number of application forms online and have them printed ideally at home.
For countries that require you to obtain visas at home but they will expire before you get there, embassies in many countries along the way will extend those expired visas, even though they won’t issue a new visa. Therefore it is always best to get the visa even though it may expire if it is necessary to do so in your home country. If there is no embassy in your home country, this may help you get visas along the way, but is not guaranteed. At home you can use embassies in neighbouring countries.

Paperwork
Before leaving home, obtain the following paperwork.
30 copies of passport information page.
30 passport photos.
10 copies of yellow fever certificate.
2 copies of credit card.
All these should be on A4 sized paper.
Passenger Manifest. Before your trip prepare a passenger manifest using Excel or similar graph that lists: Name (surname, first and other names), Sex, Nationality, Passport #, Country, Date of birth, Occupation, City of birth, Issue and Expiry date of passport, City where passport issued, Parents first names, Profession and Visa number for country in. Ideally the headings should be in the language of the country traveling through. Make many copies (5-10 per country) as they hugely simplify travel. This manifest is requested at every police/military checkpoint and embassy so literally hundreds are necessary.
A passport with at least 26 available pages is necessary, more if you plan on going to Lesotho, Swaziland and/or Mozambique once in South Africa.

GHANA
This is the only visa that MUST be obtained in your home country before departing. As the visa is issued for only 3 months, and as we were to be in Ghana just within that 3 month time frame, it needed to be applied for just before leaving home (mine arrived back the day before I had to leave my apartment for London).
We had 3 people on the trip who left London without this visa. The Indian man was refused when applying in India, but was able (by knowing someone in immigration Accra) to get a letter with the visa but I think this would be difficult! At the Ghana border, it took 3 hours and several phone calls to Accra to sort his unusual visa.
A New Zealand/British couple on our trip had to fly back to London from Marrakesh to get their visas and missed about 9 days of the trip. The NZ woman was able to use her British work permit so applied in London rather than couriering her passport home to Auckland. They were able to rejoin the trip in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Apparently this visa can be obtained in Burkina Fassa and Dakar, Senegal.
We met a Swedish couple with two small children doing the same Morocco to Cape Town trip as us, but over a 10-month period. They had no visas when we met them in Senegal (if you can read Swedish, or get their posts translated, follow their trip on www.familjpaaventyr.com). They were able (as Swedes) to get a Ghana visa in Dakar, Senegal as were a Hungarian couple I met.
The visa has many requirements. Refer to their web site in your home country.

MOROCCO
Visa-free. Most visitors to Morocco have visa-free entry and are allowed to remain in the country for 90 days on entry. Schengen member states, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Hong Kong (30 days), Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mexico, New Zealand, Niger, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore (30 days), South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela
Exceptions to this include nationals of Israel, and most sub-Saharan African countries (including South Africa). Moroccan embassies have been known to insist that you get a visa from your country of origin.
Extensions. Simplest to leave (eg travel to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla) and come back a few days later. Your chances improve if you re-enter by a different route. The Spanish enclaves have the same visa requirements as mainland Spain.
Visas for Onward Travel Four visas were obtained in Rabat and it is important to start on a Monday and do them in a specific order in order to get all four in 5 days.
Mauritania. Everyone, except nationals of Arab League countries and some African countries, needs a visa, which is valid for a one-month stay. These are issued in 48 hours at the Mauritanian embassy in Rabat (apply before noon). Visas cost Dh1,450, with two photos and a passport photocopy. An onward air ticket to Nouakchott is not required. Get to the embassy well before the 9am opening time, and be prepared to fight for your place in the queue. They do not keep your passports. As a result get this visa first when in Rabat. After doing all the paperwork, go to the Mali Embassy, just down the street.
Mali. This is a very friendly embassy – it issues visas in an hour for 250Dh with no photos or other requirements.
Cote d’Ivoire. Rabat is the best place to get this visa and go there immediately after Mali as they keep your passports. They actually stayed 2 hours after closing on Monday to enable all 21 of us to do the paperwork. It takes 2 days and considerable bureaucracy – everyone in our 22 person group entered individually, were photographed and fingerprinted and picked up the visas in 48 hours. It is necessary to pay for the visas online at home (68 euros) and print out the receipt to give to the embassy.
Guinea. Visas take 2 days and cost 750Dh. Need 2 pictures. As soon as your passports are obtained from Cote d’Ivoire, go to the Guinea Embassy and apply.

MAURITANIA
Everyone, except nationals of Arab League countries and some African countries, needs a visa, which is valid for a one-month stay. These are issued in 48 hours at the Mauritanian embassy in Rabat (apply before noon). Visas cost Dh1,450, with two photos and a passport photocopy. An onward air ticket to Nouakchott is not required. Get to the embassy well before the 9am opening time, and be prepared to fight for your place in the queue. They do not keep your passports. As a result get this visa first when in Rabat. After doing all the paperwork, go to the Mali Embassy, just down the street.
Visas for onward travel.
Democratic Republic of Congo. In the past, Oasis Overland has obtained that in Ghana, but there were many difficulties. So Steve decided to try getting it in Nouakchott. After long negotiation, they decided to give us one. It was difficult to convey the message of when we wanted the visa to start. The earliest we would arrive in the DRC was projected to be March 5. Steve thought they would give a 3-month visa so requested they start it on February 12. They did but the visa was only for one month and ended on March 12, a few days after we arrived!
Cost 100 euros. Need two photos. Required 1 day.

SENEGAL
Free visa on arrival for everyone on the trip including the Indian. Actual yellow fever vaccination certificate required. There were unexpected costs for the vehicle permit.
Visas for onward travel:
Sierra Leone. Requires 2 days at the embassy in Dakar. 2 passport photos, photocopy of passport, Yellow fever copy, hotel booking, itinerary of trip specific for Sierra Leone. Cost 60,000CFA, 120,000 for UK citizens.
Liberia. Requires 2 days, 1 passport photo, copy of passport, yellow fever vaccination. Cost 90,000CFA.
Ghana. Several independent travellers were able to obtain their Ghana visa here.

MALI
This visa was obtained easily (in about one hour) at the Mali Embassy in Rabat, Morocco. Requires 2 passport photos. Cost 250Dh.
Visas for Onward Travel.
Nigeria. The only reason our trip went to Mali was to obtain the Nigerian visa. In Steve’s experience this is the best embassy to use but it was still cumbersome and took over 2 days.
Cost depended on country from a low of 40,000CFA for New Zealanders and Australians to 70,000 for British (Canada 65,000).

GUINEA
This visa was obtained in the Guinea Embassy in Rabat, Morocco. Visas take 2 days and cost 750Dh.

SIERRA LEONE
This visa was obtained in Dakar, Senegal. Requires 2 days, 2 passport photos, photocopy of passport, Yellow fever copy, hotel booking, itinerary of trip specific for Sierra Leone. Cost 60,000CFA, 120,000 for UK citizens.

LIBERIA
This visa was obtained in Dakar, Senegal. Requires 2 days, 1 passport photo, copy of passport, yellow fever vaccination,. Cost 90,000CFA.

COTE d’IVOIRE
Rabat is the best place to get this visa and go there immediately after Mali as they keep your passports. They actually stayed 2 hours after closing on Monday to enable all 21 of us to do the paperwork. It takes 2 days and considerable bureaucracy – everyone in our 22 person group entered individually, were photographed and fingerprinted and picked up the visas in 48 hours. We had paid for our visas online at home (68 euros) and printed out the receipt to give to the embassy.

TOGO
This visa was obtained in Accra, Ghana in one day.
Cost 35,000 CFA + 50 Ghana cedis administration fee.
Visas for onward travel:
Gabon. Cost 65,000 CFA.
Congo. Cost 90,000 CFA.

BENIN
This visa was obtained in one day in Accra, Ghana.
Cost 140 Ghana cedis (US$14).

NIGERIA
The only reason to go to Mali was to obtain the Nigerian visa. In Steve’s experience this is the best embassy to use but it was still cumbersome and took 3 days.
Cost depended on country from a low of 40,000CFA for New Zealanders and Australians to 70,000 for British (Canada 65,000).
Visas for Onward Travel:
Cameroon. Application took 36 hours. Cost 100$US.

CAMEROON
Applied in Abuja, Nigeria. Yellow fever vaccination.
Cost 100US$.

GABON
This visa was obtained in Lome, Togo. Two photos, yellow fever vaccination and photocopy of passport. It was received the day we applied.
Cost 65,000 CFA.

CONGO
This visa was obtained in Lome, Togo.
Cost 90,000 CFA, up from 60,000 the year before.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
In the past, Oasis Overland has obtained that in Ghana, but there were many difficulties. So Steve decided to try getting it in Nouakchott. After long negotiation, they decided to give us one. It was difficult to convey the message of when we wanted the visa to start. The earliest we would arrive in the DRC was projected to be March 5. Steve thought they would give a 3-month visa so requested they start it on February 12. They did but the visa was only for one month and ended on March 12, a few days after we arrived!
Cost 100 euros. Need two photos. Required 1 day.

ANGOLA
This visa was obtained in Accra, Ghana. It required 9 days but the embassy did not require possession of our passports so the Togo and Benin visas could be obtained while we waited. We were able to go to Cape Coast and Elmina during the waiting time. The visa was actually available on day 8, but the cost (an exorbitant US$300) had to be deposited in a local bank and the stamps were inserted on day 9. The truck traveled to Akosombo in the Volta area of Ghana and Steve took a taxi into Accra to pick up our passports on day 10.
Required documents: Copy Ghana visa, translated UK to RSA itinerary, completed visa application, 3 passport photos, hotel reservation, support letter from Oasis, 1 passport copy, copy credit card, copy drivers driving license, copy Angola visas issued previously, copy yellow fever vaccination.

NAMIBIA.
Some countries are required to obtain visas at home for Namibia, two that I am aware of are India and Hungary (and most Eastern European countries). The only embassy that will issue visas to non-nationals is in Abuja, Nigeria. Our Indian passenger was able to obtain one there.
Hungary presents an unusual problem as there is no Namibian embassy in Hungary and that often works to get a visa on the road. Using that as an excuse had not helped them in any of the embassies that they had tried. There last hope was Luanda, Angola or possibly Brazzaville, Congo.

SOUTH AFRICA
Travellers from most Commonwealth countries (including Australia and Canada but not New Zealand who must obtain the visa at home), Western European countries, Japan and the USA are issued with a free 90-day visitor’s permit on arrival. Your passport must be valid fro at least 30 days after the end of your stay.
If you aren’t entitled to an entry permit, you’ll need to get a visa before you arrive. Visas aren’t issued at the borders.
Visas for onward travel. Many nationalities don’t require a visa to enter Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Botswana for limited periods.
Mozambique. It’s cheaper to pick up a visa on the border rather than using the one-day service available at consulates.
Zimbabwe. Visas should be available at the border for most nationalities but given the country’s volatility, it may be expedient to apply at the High Commission in Pretoria.

LESOTHO
Citizens of most Western European countries, the USA and most Commonwealth countries are granted a free entry permit at the border or airport. The standard stay permitted is between 14 and 28 days and is renewable by leaving and reentering or by application to the Director of Immigration & Passport Services. No vaccination certificates are required unless you have recently been in a yellow fever area.

SWAZILAND
Most people don’t need a visa, but if they do, one can be obtained from the Swaziland High Commission in Pretoria. If staying for longer than 30 days, apply for an extension of stay.

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