Online Portal for Tourism Visa Applications Now Open

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At a Glance

• The immigration authority in Angola has opened the online portal for foreign nationals to submit Tourism Visa applications, following the recent replacement of the Ordinary Visa with the Tourism Visa for business and tourist trips.
• The online system is expected to streamline the visa application process by removing the need to apply at an Angolan consular post prior to travel. This is likely to reduce processing times significantly.

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The situation

In an effort to streamline processing for business travelers and tourists to Angola, the Serviço de Migração e Estrangeiros de Angola has opened the online visa application portal. Prior to the launch of the new portal, visa applicants had to appear at an Angolan consular post to file their applications.

A closer look

The online portal is available for Tourism Visas, which replaced the Ordinary Visa in July.

The Tourism Visa is available for business visitors traveling for prospective business opportunities or to participate in scientific or technological activities, and for tourists on family, recreational, sporting or cultural visits.

Impact

Employers/foreign nationals can apply for a Tourism Visa online at least 48 hours prior to travel to Angola, removing the need to appear in person at a consular post. The Tourism Visa previously took up to 20 days to process from the time of submission of the application. The new processing time, according to the online portal, is within 24 hours of submission of all information on the system.

Background

• Simplification of visa processes. In the past year, the Angolan government has attempted to ease travel to Angola by simplifying immigration processes and by entering into several reciprocal visa agreements with other countries.
• Online systems. Countries in Africa continue to implement modernized immigration systems through technology to streamline the immigration process and attract foreign visitors and investors, with a focus on improving internal infrastructure in the country and  growing the economy through easier business relations and travel into Angola. Twenty-one out of 49 Sub-Saharan countries now have an online portal for business visa applications. Angola is the latest country to implement such a system.

 

Looking ahead

Fragomen expects that Angola will continue to modernize its immigration system by refining the existing processes and monitoring the implementation of the new online portal.

The next step in this process will be to use the system to electronically track foreign nationals entering the country for business purposes, aside from the issuing the Tourism Visa.

The Angolan government is also likely to expand the digital platform to apply to applicants for work permits in the future. Fragomen will report on relevant developments with this system.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].