We got our Angola visas in Kinshasa!!
Gracias Javier!
We got our Angola visas in Kinshasa!! Even if we do not reside in Congo, and do not have Congolese passports, we were able to overcome the strict residency requirement imposed by Angolan embassies, thank to a letter of support from our embassy in Kinshasa. In our case, we went to the Spanish embassy in Kinshasa and we found that the Spanish embassador was a really nice guy, who eagerly accepted to write a letter of support, asking the Angolan embassador to issue a visa for us, explaining we had done everything possible on our hand.
Indeed, we had applied for the Angolan visa at the embassy in Spain, but Angolan visas expire 60 days after issuance. Therefore, although we paid the application fee in Madrid, we asked the Angolan embassy in Madrid not to stamp the visa: we knew it would expire before we made it to Angola (since 60 days is just not enough).
The staff at the Angolan Embassy in Madrid had suggested we submitted the visa application and they will study and process it. The application had been approved, but they would not stamp the visa, because, in that case, unavoidibly, it would expire in 60 days. Instead they advised we send our passports back to Madrid, to the Angolan embassy, once we were close to enter Angola: the Angolan visas would be stamped on our passparts at that point.
We left Madrid relying on this option as our best chance to obtain the Angolan visa. However, we were still hoping we could try at some Angolan embassy along our itinerary through Africa and ask them to contact the embassy in Madrid. If the Angolan Madrid-embassy staff could confirm their collegues at the Angolan African embassy that our visa apllication was complete and had been approved, maybe we could get the Angolan visa stamped on our passports at that Angolan embassy in Africa. We tried our lack at the Angolan embassies in Abidjan and Brazzaville, but none of them were of any help. They just made it very clear they would simply not do anything like that. They really did not give us more than a couple of minutes to explain our problem.
After we had been kicked out from the Angolan embassy in brazzaville, Kinshasa became our last option. if the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa would refuse to issue visas for us, our plan B was to send the passports to Madrid. However, some preliminary research revealed the cost of sending our passports through DHL, back and forth between Kinshasa and Madrid would be at least some hundred dollars.
We finally went to the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa very depressed and witnh barely any hope we would receive any help. We even considered not to bother and not even trying asking. After all, what was the point? we were convinced it was hopeless, and it is never enjoyable to be rejected and kicked out.
The outcome of our visit to the angolan embassy in Kinshasa, however
clearly exceeded our zero expectations. The Angolan immigration official explained to us: "as a general rule, we do not issue visas to tourists, who do not have their residency in Congo, ...but, if we wanted to insist, we could ask from our embassy a note explaining why we needed a visas and why we were applying in Kinshasa and not in our country of residence. they would study the case, analyze it and, if it made sense, issue the visas." Those were really good news and much more than what we were expecting. It turned out there was actually a pathway, which was all what we have asked for.
Spanish embassador in Kinshasa, Javier Hergueta Garnica revealed himself to be a really friendly and cool guy. He was truly impressed by our trip and our story and was happy and eager to write some nice letter to his friend Emilio, the Angolan embassador in Kinshasa. He even asked us to bring our Land ROver Santana inside the embassy and take some pictures together. In comparisson, we also went to the American embassy in Kinshasa, but were not even able to ever talk to an American official.
Needless to say, the letter of Spanish embassador Javier Hergueta Garnica was the key for our successful Angolan-visa application. However, some nasty surprises were still awaiting for us as we followed the process to receive our visas.
We first brough the letter from the Spanish embassy to the Angolan embassy. However, the Angolan embassador's secretary told us to wait for the next day to bring the rest of the application paperwork, as they were already close for the day (the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa closes at 11:30am). So we did, But, as we handed our passports and application forms to the immigration official, we were shocked he stappled everything together and immediately handed the material back to us; our applications had been rejected... I reminded him what he had said the day before, if we get a note from our embassy, they will study the case. He remembered what he had said, but explained they had confirmed we were tourists, and they do not issue visas to tourist who do not reside in Congo. In reply, I insisted in the note from our embassy we had provided. He insisted they had confirmed we were tourists. As the whole thing did not make any sense to me, I asked him specifically about the letter from our embassy. He said (or at least so I understood) he knew about it, but he was not very convincing and it remained unclear to me we were talking about the same thing. So I asked him again if he had seen the letter from the Spanish embassy we had brought the day before to the embassador's secretary. He replied: "what letter? where is that letter?". I repeated the embassador's secretary had a letter from the Spanish embassador concerning our visa application. He finally asked us to wait while he checked on that.
After a couple of minutes we were asked to follow some man to some office. The official inside asked us to explain what exactly was what we wanted. I started explaining our problem and why we were asking for the Angolan visa in Kinshasa. However, he interrupted me showing the letter the Spanish embassador had written for us. He explained he had read the letter and knew the story, so I did not need to repeat it. He next asked me for our travel documents. I guessed he was enquiring about our hotel reservations, and I was right. I told him we would bring our hotel reservation confirmation the next day. So we did. We were then told to wait until the following week for the decision on our visa applications.
Indeed, we went back to the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa the following Wednesday. We were brought to the same office he had been the previous week. Then we were told my visa application had been approved, but they could not issue a visa to Alia, because her passport was American. Alia complained she has a Spanish resident id card. I added the Angolan embassy in Madrid did not have any objection against Alia's American passport, since she had a Spanish resident id card. The guy tried to calm me down explaining I did not have to worry, since my visa application had been successful. We both replied it simply would not work that I travel by myself, without Alia, to Angola. The tried to explain they had attempted to get a visa for Alia, but they were not able. it was still very unclear to us why exactly they had not been able. It turned out the system would simply not allow them to print the visa sticker for Alia. Apparently, the system had found Alia's passport information was already in the global database and, under such circumstances, it would not allow some other Angolan embassy create another record for Alia's passport and print a visa sticker for it. They asked if Alia had a second passport, as that would solve the problem, but Alia replied she only has one passport, as most people. They explained they did not experience the same problem with my visa application, because there was no record in the database with my passport information. In summary, the Angolan embassy in Madrid had removed my record from the database, but not Alia's. I pointed out that all seemed just a technical problem and some solution should be possible, otherwise it meant Alia would never be able to get an Angolan visa, without any fault on her part. I asked if the problem could not be solved by having Alia's record removed from the database. They replied 'yes', but they could not do it; the embassy in Spain had to do it. I told them I could try to contact the Angolan embassy in Spain and ask them to remove Alia's record, but I would need some letter from them, backing my request. They replied that was very complicated and could not do it. That was a really lame excuse none of us were going to accept. Alia pointed out it would simply not work that we send some relative to the Angolan embassy in Madrid asking them to remove Alia's record. Neither would it that we call or email them. How would the embassy in Madrid verify that relative had Alia's authorization or how would the verify the identity of the person on the phone or sending the email message? I added the question what would be their own response if somebody comes to the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa requesting somebody else's visa application should be cancelled. Obviously, they were not able to argue against our points. The two officials talked to each other for ashort while. Then, a phone call followed. Finally, they said: "OK, we are going to try, we will call you when we know something". The next day we received a call from the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa: both our visas were ready.
From our experience, it may be concluded it was unnecessary to apply for the Angolan visa in our country of residence, since we were eventually able to submit another application in kinshasa and get it approved. filing and paying for our visa application in spain, did not even save us from paying a second application fee in Kinshasa. Nevertheless, we believe it actually served a purpose to apply in our country of residence, as it constituted a center piece of our strategy: we felt we needed to make the point we had done everything we could, everything the Angolan authorities had told us to do, and we had still reached a dead end. Our strategy was to explain the angolan authorities they needed to give us a pathway.
We believe our experience could be of great help to other people in similar circumstances. people traveling long periods of time, wanting to visit Angola. there was nothing extraordinary in our visa application process. We did not have any contacts in the Angolan administration. we did not know anybody who would be able to influence and work out a possitive decision to our application. We did not bribe anybody and everything was absolutely legal in our visa application. In summary, if we were able to get our Angolan tourist visa in Kinshasa, we believe, anybody should also be able.
If the first immigration official we talked to at the Angolan embassy in Kinshasa, gave us the option to insist and go ask our embassy for a letter of support, is not because he liked us, thought we were cute, took pity on us or found otherwise something special about us. Similarly, it should not be considered abnormal that the Spanish embassador was friendly and eager to write a nice support letter.
As a final note, although applying for the Angolan visa in Kinshasa seemed to us the best option, we still would like to share other tips and suggestions we received along our quest for the Angolan tourist visa. Clearly, another option is to send the passports back to the Angolan embassy in the country of residence or citizenship. For that sake, it may be helpful to get a second passport. Our understanding is that most countries will offer the option of issueing two passports.
we have also heard of people going to Pointe Noire, at the Southern coast of congo brazzaville, and obtaining there at the Angolan consulate a transit visa to enter through Cabinda. As a matter of fact that is what we were suggested at the Angolan embassy in Brazzaville. They told us they could not do anything for us, but we could go to Pointe Noire and the consulate there would give us a visa to enter through Cabinda. What we never found out is how does it later work to cross over DRC, from Cabinda to 'mainland' Angola.
One last tip we received was from the DRC immigration official who processed our information and applications for entry, when first arrived in DRC at the border post at Ndalatando (Congo brazzaville - Congo Kinshasa border crossing between Boko and Luozi). This DRC immigration officer said the strict residency requirement is not applied at the Angola consulate in Matadi. However, we were never able to find any account that would confirm such statement.
