Central African Republic:Visa Requirements

Consular Visa Application Requirements

• Short-term and long-term visa applications for the Central African Republic are made through the diplomatic mission. The application can be initiated online or prepared using a paper form. The person applying online must create an account, complete the information on the form, and print the form after confirming the information. Submitting the form only via the internet is not sufficient.
• The completed application form must be accompanied by a valid original passport, a copy of the passport, two identity photographs, and supporting documents appropriate to the purpose of travel. Which pages of the passport should be copied is not definitively specified in the central official source.
• The application form contains fields for ordinary passport, service passport, diplomatic passport, and, provided it is specified, other passport or travel document types. The passport number, date of issue, place of issue, and date of expiry must be written.
• The passport must be valid at the time of application. A specific minimum validity period that the passport must have after the date of entry into the country is not definitively specified in the central official source. The number of blank pages required in the passport is not definitively specified in the central official source.
• A requirement for a machine-readable or biometric passport is not definitively specified in the central official source. A specific rule on acceptance or rejection of damaged passports is not definitively specified in the central official source.
• The application form requests first name, surname, gender, date of birth, place and country of birth, nationality at birth, current nationality, residential address, marital status, occupation, employer, and employer address. The names of the mother and father, telephone number, and email address must also be written on the form.
• On the form, it must be stated whether the travel is for a private visit, holiday, business, employment, official duty, or another purpose. The main destination, address in the Central African Republic, family ties or other contact persons, number of persons traveling together, planned dates and duration of stay, means of transport, point of entry into the country, and travel itinerary must be written.
• The applicant's place of stay in the country, the cities to be visited, and whether the applicant has previously traveled to the Central African Republic must also be reported. If there is a previous travel, the date of entry, duration of stay, purpose of travel, cities visited, and persons contacted must be written.
• The applicant must declare that they will depart from the Central African Republic before the expiry of the issued visa. The form must be dated and signed. Making a false declaration may lead to legal sanctions and denial of future visa applications.
• An airplane ticket must be attached to the application file. Whether the document must necessarily be a purchased round-trip ticket or a flight reservation is not definitively specified in the central official source.
• Depending on the purpose of travel, copies of supporting documents such as an invitation letter, assignment order, or hotel reservation must be submitted. The information that the invitation letter must contain and the identity, passport, residence, or financial capacity documents that the inviting person must submit are not definitively specified in the central official source.
• Applicants for tourism purposes are required to obtain a document issued by the Ministry of Tourism of the Central African Republic. The procedure for obtaining this document and all tourist travel situations to which it applies are not explained in detail in the central official source.
• Journalists must submit an accreditation document. For official duty or corporate travel, an assignment order may be used as a supporting document.
• A short-term visa may be requested for a period of 1 to 30 days or 30 to 45 days. At the Paris Embassy, the fee for a short-term visa of 1 to 30 days is 80 euros, and for a short-term visa of 30 to 45 days is 160 euros. An additional fee of 20 euros is applied for expedited processing.
• For accredited non-governmental organizations and associations, the short-term visa fee is 30 euros. The fee to be applied to non-accredited organizations is indicated as "applicable tariff"; the exact amount is not specified in the central official source.
• A long-term visa may be requested for a period of 45 to 90 days. At the Paris Embassy, the long-term visa fee is 300 euros. An additional fee of 20 euros is applied for expedited processing.
• For accredited non-governmental organizations and associations, the long-term visa fee is 50 euros. The exact amount to be applied to non-accredited organizations is not specified in the central official source.
• The fee may be paid by bank transfer to the Paris Embassy's bank account or in cash if applying in person at the embassy. If a bank transfer is to be made, the embassy's bank account details must be used. The fees and payment methods of other diplomatic missions may differ.
• The short-term visa is physically affixed to the passport. The completion or approval of the online application form alone does not constitute a valid electronic visa for travel.
• The application and original passport may be sent by mail. If the passport is to be returned by mail after processing is complete, the applicant must provide a self-addressed, prepaid envelope and arrange the Chronopost service for return.
• Collection of short-term, long-term, and courtesy visas within the jurisdiction of the Paris Embassy takes place 72 hours after the file is submitted. This timeframe applies only to the service schedule published by the Paris Embassy and is not a universal processing time for other embassies or consulates.
• How far in advance of travel the application must be made is not definitively specified in the central official source. How many hours or business days the timeframe for expedited processing is not definitively specified in the central official source.
• The options and conditions regarding the issuance of the visa as single-entry or multiple-entry are not definitively specified in the published Paris application forms. The latest date by which the visa can be used from the date of issuance is not separately explained.
• Two identity photographs must be submitted. The size of the photograph, background color, date taken, face position, file format, and other technical specifications are not definitively specified in the central official source.
• A bank statement, salary certificate, or a specific minimum financial capacity amount is not indicated as a mandatory document for all applicants. The number of months the bank statement must cover and the minimum amount required in the account are not definitively specified in the central official source.
• Travel health insurance is not explicitly required for all applicants. The minimum coverage amount that the insurance must have is not definitively specified in the central official source.
• A common requirement covering all applicants regarding proof of legal residence or residence permit in the country of application has not been published. This condition may vary depending on the jurisdiction of the embassy being applied to.
• A universal requirement to submit a valid visa or residence permit from another country has not been published. There is no definitive information in the central official source regarding fingerprinting, biometric data registration, or mandatory interview.
• A current and central official checklist regarding the inclusion of a vaccination certificate or other health document in the consular visa file has not been published.
• There is no central visa checklist explaining the requirements for birth certificate, parental consent, parent's identity document, or custody document for minor foreign visa applicants.
• A common central rule applicable to all applications regarding translation of documents into French, notarization, apostille, or legalization by diplomatic authorities has not been published.