Visa policy of Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda, a member of the East African Community, allows citizens of all countries that are not visa exempt to obtain a visa on arrival. In addition, they may also obtain an e-Visa online before departure.[1] All visitors must hold a passport valid for at least six months with at least one empty page. Kenyans and Ugandans may use an ID card in lieu of a passport to enter Rwanda.[2]

Rwanda tourist visa issued at Rwandan embassy in Tanzania in 2014

Visa policy map

Visa policy of Rwanda

Visa exemption

Citizens of the following countries are visa exempt for 90 days:[3][4]

Holders of diplomatic and service category passports of China, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Israel, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates do not require a visa.[6][7]

Visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and service passport was signed with  Sierra Leone in August 2019 and it is yet to be ratified.[8]

Conflicting information

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates holds that the citizens of UAE can visit Rwanda without a visa for 90 days as of 30 December 2017 based on the bilateral memorandum of understanding signed by the ministers of foreign affairs of the two countries. Such information is not found on the current version (as of September 2018) of Timatic nor on the website of the Rwanda Directorate General Immigration and Emigration which do not cite any special visa policy for UAE citizens.[9][10][11] Rwandan Justice Minister and Attorney General confirmed in October 2018 that the visa waiver is available only on reciprocal basis and that ordinary passport holders of other countries travel to Rwanda the same way as ordinary passport holders from Rwanda travel to those respective countries.[12]

Visa on arrival

Visitors from all countries have been eligible for visa on arrival since 1 January 2018. Citizens of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa countries that are not visa exempt receive visas valid for 90 days while other visitors are granted visas valid for 30 days.[13][14][15]

eVisa

Citizens of countries that are not visa-exempt may also obtain a visa online or at a Rwandan diplomatic mission, if they prefer.[16] An entry visa is valid for a single entry for a period not exceeding 30 days and is processed within three working days.[17]

See also

References

  1. "Country information (visa section)". Timatic. International Air Transport Association (IATA) through Gulf Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. "Kenyans can now use their ID cards to travel in East Africa - HapaKenya". hapakenya.com. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  3. "VISA". Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  4. "Minister Busingye: Visa waiver a reciprocal gesture". The New Times | Rwanda. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  5. "Rwanda reciprocates Angola with Visa Exemption". 2 November 2018.
  6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2018-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Minister Busingye: Visa waiver a reciprocal gesture". The New Times | Rwanda. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  8. @onduhungirehe (5 July 2019). "Signing bilateral agreements with #SierraLeone🇸🇱, in the margins of the working visit of @PresidentBio in #Rwanda🇷🇼…" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  9. "MoFAIC -- News -- Prior visa waiver for UAE nationals travelling to Rwanda". www.mofa.gov.ae. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  10. "Country information (visa section)". Timatic. International Air Transport Association (IATA) through Gulf Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  11. "IremboGov". irembo.gov.rw. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  12. Minister Busingye: Visa waiver a reciprocal gesture
  13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2017-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "VISA". www.migration.gov.rw. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  15. AfricaNews. "Rwanda announces global visa free regime starting January 2018 - Africanews". africanews.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  16. "online visa". www.migration.gov.rw. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  17. "IREMBO". irembo.gov.rw. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
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