West Africa Trips: Visa Information

Visas can make travelling through the countries of West Africa a challenge a times. Some are quite expensive, some require quite a bit of paperwork, and some take time and effort to obtain.

All of the information below is correct at the time of writing, and we will endeavour to update this page regularly with the latest information – but please bear in mind that embassies often change their visa requirements overnight with little or no notice at all!

Please note we will provide more detailed information on visa requirements specific to your trip/s at the time of booking. Please pay particular attention to the specified dates of entry we will provide you with in support of your visa application.

Important Information

Passengers are responsible for obtaining certain visas before they join the trip. Whilst Overlanding West Africa will help as much as possible with supporting documents and information for the visa applications, it must be stressed that there is a limit to how much we can assist.

For the more complicated visas, we strongly urge you to seek advice from a visa agency who specialise on West Africa to ensure your application is successful. Overlanding West Africa can not be held responsible for the failure to obtain the necessary visas you need in advance.

In total, you should plan for your passport to be away from you for approximately 10 working days per visa application (longer if you have to send your passport overseas to an embassy). So if you need 3 visas in advance, you should ensure that your passport is available for at least 30 working days before you travel. Please take this into consideration when planning other travel arrangements before you join us in West Africa.

For some of the visas you need to apply for in advance, you may be required to attend the embassy in person for an interview. If you do not have an embassy in your country for a particular visa you may have to send your passport overseas to the closest embassy. This will increase the amount of time your passport needs to be available for before the trip starts.

Visa Prices

The following approximate prices are correct as of August 2023. They are meant as a rough guide, and prices will vary depending upon your nationality and where you apply for the visa.

Prices are listed in Euros [EUR] or US Dollars [USD] for cost of the visa ONLY.  If you have to apply for a visa in advance through a visa agent you will need to add the service charge on top of this.

More Important Information

• If the passport you will be travelling on is from somewhere other than the UK & European Union, Australia, New Zealand, USA or Canada, please Contact Us for further advice.

• For those visas you need to apply for in advance, you passport must normally be free for at least 10 working days per visa (longer if your passport has to be sent overseas for any of the visas) –  please plan your other travel arrangements with this in mind.

• Your passport must be valid for a minimum of 6 months after the date you will be leaving the trip and must have a minimum of 2 clear pages for each country we will be travelling through. The visa itself will take up a whole page, and the entry/exit stamps are often so large they sometimes take up best part of another page.

• In addition, you should bring at least 2 passport photos for each visa we apply for en route in West Africa (these may not be required, but saves hassle if they are needed).

• Most visas obtained en route cannot be paid for in local currency – they usually must be paid in either US Dollars or Euros – so please bear this in mind when planning how much cash to bring with you.

• Overlanding West Africa can provide you with a letter of guarantee and a detailed itinerary in support of your visa applications, at no extra cost. However, if a letter of invitation is required for a particular visa, there will be a small charge for this.