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Working In Africa – What Are African Visa Requirements?

If you are considering working in Africa as a volunteer (in fact the following is equally true of any job working in Africa) you’ll need a visa. African visa requirements vary from country to country – and it’s generally accepted that it’s better to get your visa when you arrive – so you’ll find the whole process a lot easier with a bit of advanced knowledge.

The legal requirement for any African visa is that you have at least 90 days remaining on your passport although most volunteer organizations recommend you have at least six months. It might seem like being overly cautious but you are probably traveling some considerable distance so why take the risk? It’s also necessary to have at least two blank visa pages but more will be necessary if you going to visit more than one country whilst in Africa because each border crossing will require a separate visa. For example, if you volunteer for lion conservation in Zimbabwe (Antelope Park is an internationally recognized lion rehabilitation program) and then go on to explore Mozambique and South Africa as part of an extended vacation – which is by no means unusual – then you will need three different African visas and thus three pages.

In fact some African volunteering opportunities will take you across more than one border, from Zimbabwe to Zambia for example, so your two blank visa pages will be used.

The other important African visa requirement is having the correct currency to pay for it and you might be surprised to find out that local money is not the best option. The US dollar is the currency of choice and always the safest option. Some African countries will accept Euros or UK sterling but again, why take the risk? If you know that dollars will get you through without any difficulties then why not make sure you have sufficient before you leave home?

If you are working on Africa for an employer then it’s more than likely they will help you through all this. If you are doing volunteer work in Africa then many organizations will pick you up at the airport after you have passed through the controls but you will need to deal with African visa issues yourself.

If you are from the Commonwealth or most European Union, countries like South Africa and Botswana will issue you a free tourist visa but each African country has it’s own rules and Kenya, for example, will not accept notes in any currency which are pre-1999. It’s also a continent where rules change often. What I write today might be different when you travel.

So the golden rule for African visa requirements is to check with your own embassy in the relevant country shortly before you leave. A British traveler going to Zimbabwe will pay more for their visa than an American, for example. Don’t ask me why, but as someone once said you don’t have to like the rules, just make sure you understand them!

The whole African visa subject might seem complex but that’s only looking at it as a whole. If you are going to do volunteer work in South Africa then all you have to worry about is that one country. Even if you are traveling to several African countries you needn’t be concerned, just plan in advance and it will all go smoothly. A good volunteer support organization will be able to advise and help you on each step.

There’s one final note. There are a number of internet based services which offer to get your visa for you. I have no experience of these so I can’t say how reliable or efficient they are. However, they appear to want something like $40 to process your application on top of the usual embassy fee – which itself may be $20 more than you will pay at the airport when you arrive, or at any African border crossing. That adds up to an extra $60 or so – which is probably why so many African volunteer groups suggest you just do it yourself at your point of arrival!

About the Author

Interested in volunteering in Africa? For up to date info on all aspects of volunteer work in Africa plus a free copy of “Essential African Travel Tips” visit Working In Africa.

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