Visitors to the Democratic Republic of the Congo must obtain a visa from one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo diplomatic missions unless they come from a visa exempt country, a country whose nationals can obtain a visa on arrival or eligible to obtain an e-visa online https://evisa.gouv.cd or are arriving from a country with no embassy, in which case they can obtain a visa confirmation followed by a 7-day visa on arrival (extendable in the DRC).[1] In recent years, it is possible to arrange a tourist visa for visiting the Virunga National Park (on the Eastern Border) through the park itself.
Visitors requiring a visa need to submit a legalised letter of invitation from a DRC person or organization. For tourists, a hotel booking confirmation is accepted in case the traveller has no contact in the DRC.
Visa exemption
Citizens of the following 4 countries can visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo without a visa for up to 90 days:[2]
Holders of diplomatic or service passports issued to nationals of Angola (on duty), Iran and South Africa do not require a visa for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A visa exemption agreement was signed with United Arab Emirates in November 2018 and it is yet to come into force.[3]
Visa on arrival
Citizens of the following 3 countries can visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo by obtaining a visa on arrival valid for up to 7 days:
Other nationals arriving from a country with no DRC embassy can apply for a visa confirmation (“visa volant”). A letter of request is sent via e-mail to the Direction Générale de Migration with a photocopy of the passport of the applicant and the inviting person/organization. A confirmation is sent to the applicant which is then used to obtain a visa on arrival, valid for 7 days and extendable in the DRC.