Rwanda VISA

Rwanda VISA is one of the most important documents that one needs to have before they are allowed access into the country for any given reason. Rwanda is a landlocked country located in East Africa bordering Uganda in the north, Burundi in the south, Tanzania in the east and Democratic Republic of Congo in the west. Rwanda receives many visitors who travel for various reasons including Business, Holidays, Family visits, Tourism among others hence they are required to acquire a visa which allows them to enter into the country.

A visa is a document that is stamped and issued to any traveller visiting a foreign county like Rwanda and a Visa to Rwanda is issued by the Directorate General of Migration and Immigration on arrival at Kigali international airport or any land border. They introduced E-Visa system where travellers apply for a visa to Rwanda online in January 1st 2018, hence this makes VISA applications easy in that a single entry visa can be processed in three working days and the visa allows you to visit Rwanda for 30 days.

Requirements for acquiring a Visa to Rwanda

In order for one to acquire a VISA, he or she must have different requirements that will be needed for identification when processing your visa to Rwanda including;

A valid passport or other important travel documents from your country of origin, the passport should be valid for at least six months from the date of arrival.
Two recent passport size photographs, these are put on your visa card after processing it
Yellow fever vaccination certification, this is very necessary in case you are coming from a country that is endemic to yellow fever or when there is an active outbreak of yellow fever.
A blank page on your passport, this will be used for stamps at the entry point at Kigali international airport.

How to get a Visa to Rwanda

A VISA can be acquired in different ways depending on the country you are coming from and the easier way that works for you which include

Applying for a VISA online where you will visit the visa website on www.migration.gov.rw fill out the application form and submit it together with the necessary documents or the Government portal www.irembo.gov.rw and apply for an online application form.

A VISA can also be purchased from the embassy or High Commission in your country where you can fill out the application form and submit it directly to the offices with other documents required.

Visa Types and Fees in Rwanda

Visa fees in Rwanda vary depending on the type of the visa you want to purchase, there are various visa types which a visitor can purchase depending on the purpose for the visit in Rwanda which include

Single Entry Tourist Visa, this is a visa that allows you to enter once for various reasons and is valid for 30 days and costs $30.
Single Transit Visa, this is a visa that allows you to pass through the country and not stay there in case Rwanda is a connecting country to the destination you want to visit, a single transit visa costs $30 and is valid for 72 hours.
Single Entry Conference Visa, this is a visa that allows you to visit and stay in Rwanda for conferences, symposium and others events, the conference visa costs $30 and is valid for 30 days in the country.
East African Visa to Rwanda, this is a visa that allows you to visit any of the East African countries, for example, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi. The East African visa costs $100 and is valid for 90 days from the date of arrival.
Multiple Entry Business Visa, this is a visa that allows you to visit for multiple times in a given time frame for business reasons. The Multiple Business Visa costs $50 and is valid for 90 days from the date it’s issued.

How to apply for a Visa

Once you have all the required documents which are the passport, yellow fever vaccination certificate and two passport photographs, you can apply online at www.migration.gov.rw where you will fill in the visa application form and submit it together with the scanned required documents and you will receive an email indicating that the application form was received.

In case you are in Rwanda, you can fill out the application form direct it to the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration offices in Kigali-Rwanda and submit the application form to the high commission in person and Rwanda diplomatic mission in your country of residence in case you are not in Rwanda. You will provide a photocopy of the passport or travel documents, two passport photographs which have both ears seen with white background. Provide a signed letter explaining the purpose why you are travelling to Rwanda, proof of payment and return flight confirmation. The application must show present evidence that you have sufficient funds that will cover all the total cost of your stay while in Rwanda, this application will be presented at the high commission or at the entry point on arrival at Kigali international airport. The yellow fever vaccination certificate will be required at the border post after arrival in Rwanda. Visa processing in Rwanda takes three working days to be completed hence a visitor interested in visiting Rwanda country is advised to book the visa one month advance before the travel date.

Payment of the Visa

Once the application procedure is done you are requested to pay for the visa, a single entry visa to Rwanda is paid using the bank account details of Rwanda visa to Rwanda High Commission and the East African tourist Visa is paid using the bank account details for East African Tourist Visas to the Rwanda High Commission.

In case you have applied a visa to Rwanda online; you can pay for the visa by credit/debit card or PayPal account. However, the Rwanda High Commission doesn’t accept payment by cash, postal orders or cheques.

Extension of Visa while in Rwanda

In case you wish to extend your Visa for your visit in this country, you can apply to the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration office in Kigali-Rwanda before your current visa expires and you will be given a grace period in that you will be allowed to stay in the country for five days after your visa has expired. However, if your visa expires before you apply for a visa extension, you will be subjected to a penalty and the visa extension will be denied.

Visa Exemption countries in Rwanda

There are some countries that are visa-free in that the travellers can enter Rwanda without a Visa card but rather with a passport and they include

East African Community countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, the traveller from East Africa can visit Rwanda for a period of 30 days.

Others countries include Samoa, Dominica, Grenada, Philippines, Haiti, Hong Kong, Angola, Mauritius, Ghana, Singapore, Palestine, Indonesia among others, they are given passports and the visit in Rwanda can be valid for 90 days and sometimes six months. However, there are countries like Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK and USA, where travellers are allowed to purchase their Visa cards on arrival at Kigali international airport

A Visa gives you an opportunity to explore the country by visiting the national parks in Rwanda like Nyungwe national park and Volcanoes national park where you can engage in various interesting and adventurous activities like mountain climbing, gorilla trekking, cultural encounters with the local communities among others hence making your visit in Rwanda memorable and rewarding.