“Backpacking overland in West Africa takes great patience, Kim, and a lot of visas.”
For our fellow travelers in West Africa, or those planning their trip, here’s an updated West Africa visa cheat-sheet (my “visa difficulty” rating is biased toward overlanders).
Benin gets it! Most of the world can enter Benin by air with an eVisa or overland with a VOA.
Burkina Faso finally gets it! Burkina Faso now offers an eVisa, a VOA is available at the airport and land borders, and their embassies issue visas without requiring residency.
Cabo Verde gets it! This island nation is easy to enter, most nationalities are visa-free and all others are eligible for a VOA. But all travelers need to pay an airport tax online before arriving.
Cameroon finally gets it, sort of. Cameroon now offers an eVisa for airport arrival, but overlanders need an embassy sticker to use the eVisa at land borders.
Cote d’Ivoire does not get it! Getting a Cote d’Ivoire visa can be a hassle for overlanders with no real eVisa, no VOA, and embassies that often require residency. If possible, get your Cote d’Ivoire visa at home.
Equatorial Guinea does not get it! EG started issuing an eVisa in 2023, but getting this eVisa is hit-and-miss. EG’s 45-year dictatorship has everything to hide and still tries to keep foreigners out.
Gambia gets it! Gambia’s visa requirements are a bit convoluted, but most travelers can enter visa-free, and Americans can enter with a VOA at the airport and land borders.
Ghana does not get it! Ghana’s visa process is surprisingly archaic (lame) considering their tourist industry is one of Africa’s most developed – still no eVisa, a hit-and-miss VOA, and embassies that usually require residency. If possible, get your Ghana visa at home.
Guinea gets it, sort of. Guinea now offers an eVisa and neighboring embassies often support overlanders with the hit-and-miss online eVisa application, but Guinea does not offer a VOA.
Guinea-Bissau does not get it! Guinea-Bissau supposedly offers an eVisa, but the online portal doesn’t work. Travelers can get a VOA at the airport, but it can be hit-and-miss at land borders and at GB embassies in neighboring countries.
Liberia finally gets it! Liberia offers an eVisa now, but not a VOA, and it’s relatively easy to get a visa at Liberian embassies.
Mali does not get it! Mali doesn’t offer an eVisa and their VOA is only available to citizens of two African countries, but Mali embassies issue visas relatively easily.
Mauritania gets it! All foreigners are eligible for a VOA when entering by air or overland.
Morocco is totally dialed in! Most of the world can enter Morocco visa-free and non-exempt travelers can easily get a visa or eVisa.
Niger does not get it! Niger has no eVisa, no standard VOA, and many embassies require residency. If possible, get your Niger visa at home.
Nigeria does not get it! The self-annointed “Giants of Africa” are midgets in the visa world – they don’t offer a real eVisa or VOA (without a LOI), and Nigerian embassies require residency. If possible, get your Nigeria visa at home.
Senegal is a breath of fresh air in West Africa. Most of the world can enter Senegal visa-free, and non-exempt travelers can get a VOA.
Sierra Leone gets it! Most of the world can get an eVisa or VOA when entering by air and overland.
Togo gets it! Although Togo no longer offers their easy-breezy VOA, all travelers are eligible for Togo’s new eVisa.
Western Sahara is effectively Morocco – visa-free for most of the world. The larger, coastal part of Western Sahara is open to travelers and controlled by Morocco, so their visa requirements apply. The smaller, inland part of Western Sahara is a perpetual war zone and refugee crisis.
So, those are the basics of West Africa visas.
“Would you like someone else to do 90% of your West Africa visa homework?”
Do you want all the West Africa eVisa links, VOA details, and GPS coordinates for neighboring embassies and consulates that issue visas?
Do you want someone else to sift through the latest posts on West Africa Travellers, Every Passport Stamp, iOverlander, etc. and summarize the current visa procedures for every country in West Africa?
Yes, please?
Voilà! Here’s your kick-ass West Africa tourist visa guide.
This West Africa tourist visa guide is written for everyone from everywhere; I list all nationalities that need a visa, and all nationalities that are visa-free. For each country I provide the types of visas available, the neighboring embassies that offer visas, where to extend your visa, how I scored my visa (I backpacked overland to every country except Nigeria), and links to online resources for your visa research. Think of me as your visa oracle.
Technically, Morocco, Western Sahara, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea are not part of West Africa, but who cares! The updated visa procedures for Cameroon and EG are precious.
Good luck getting your visas and safe travels! KV
