Most of you who wish to explore the geographical wonders or amazingly diverse cultures of Angola need a visa to enter the country. To help promote tourism in the country, the government of Angola introduced a simplified visa registration system for travelers from over 60 foreign nations. 

You are now exempt from visiting an Angolan embassy to apply for a short-term tourist visa ( if you are a citizen of the visa-free nation). Instead, you can apply for a pre-entry visa online and convert it into a tourist visa on arrival at international airports in the country. In our experience, the online pre-registration process is easy and straightforward. 

However, those of you who are not familiar with the visa rules may still find it a little difficult to navigate through the lengthy process. Here is our step-by-step guide to the application process. 

What is a Pre-entry Visa for Angola  

An Angola pre-entry visa (also known as pre-visa registration) is an electronic travel authorization granted to citizens of a few eligible countries. If you are a visitor belonging to a selected country entitled to an Angolan pre-entry visa, you can get a tourist visa on arrival.  

As we were eligible for an Angolan pre-entry visa, we had to log in to the official website of Angola’s migration and foreign services under the Ministry of Interiors and register our details.  

Once completed, we had to print a copy of the document and show it to the immigration officials at the port of entry in Angola. The officials at the immigration counter issued us a physical (paper) tourist visa for a fee of US$120. Read on to learn what to expect while filling in the Angolan pre-entry visa form. 

Be Prepared  

Preparation is the key to a successful visa application. You must do due research prior to starting the actual application process. You can contact the Angola embassy to understand the documentation.  

We suggest gathering all the required documents before you login into the visa portal. Your documents include flight tickets. This means that you have to book your accommodation and flights before applying for the Angolan pre-entry visa.  

The official portal of the Angolan migration service has detailed information about the documentation needed for your pre-entry visa and its sizes and formats. 

You must go through the portal to get a clear understanding. Also, make sure you have good internet connectivity when you start filling out the form. 

Your Online Application Form 

Those of you who are planning to register for the Angola pre-visa must log in to the official website of the country’s immigration service. You can also check the status of the pre-entry visa (eVisa) on the same website. You can use your passport number and date of birth to get to know your visa status after completing the application.  

On the very first page of your online application form, you are required to mention the port of entry. You have to select from the drop-down list of airports.  

Note that you cannot convert the pre-entry visa to a proper tourist visa in all international airports in Angola. Ensure to book flights that land at an airport wherein you can change the pre-visa to a tourist visa.  

Once you enter the captcha, you can reach the disclaimer page. 

Disclaimer 

The detailed disclaimer says that the eVisa (the electronic pre-entry visa) will be emailed to you once the data entered is verified and validated. The disclaimer states that you have to read the terms and conditions and reiterates the rights of Angola’s immigration and foreign services.  

It says that your personal and other data submitted through the online application form will be retained by the authorities for a period of two years. It further states that the government of the country, as well as other related organizations attached to the Ministry of Interiors, will have access to your data. 

Those of you who have concerns about the processing of your data can reach the authorities at the official email address.  

The disclaimer also advises you to read the technical specification carefully and follow it while uploading your documents. It warns that applications that do not meet the technical specification may result in rejection. It can also delay your visa processing.  

Once you agree with the terms and conditions, you can move to the next page. It is also to be noted that all data must be entered within the stipulated time, as the session expires after some time. You may need to re-enter the data again.  

Choose Your Visa Type 

Only the tourist visa for Angola (pre-registration for the same) can be applied for through this portal. The visa fee is US$120, and we had to pay the amount in cash at the port of entry. The page also lists the documents (including the sizes and regulations on this page). You must strictly adhere to the specification failure, which can result in visa rejection.   

Some of the documents you need are as follows: 

• Your Photograph: Maximum size is 200 KB, and the image format should be JPEG 
• Passport: Maximum size is 70 KB, and image format is JPEG 
• Your Flight tickets 
• Your Accommodation details 
• International vaccination certificate 
• Proof of funds: 200 USD per Day 

You can move to the next page by clicking the ‘continue’ button. You can also visit the previous and home pages by clicking the respective buttons. We were able to navigate to the next section by filling in the above details. 

Your Personal Details 

You must share a number of personal details while applying for your visa: They are as follows: 

Forename/first name: This is your official given/first name. It must match the name mentioned in your passport.  

Surname: Your official second name as given in the passport.  

Marital Status: You should mention whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed.  

Your Date of Birth: The date on which the applicant is born as it appears in your passport.  

Your Country of Birth: The country in which you were born, as it appears in the passport. 

Gender: Your gender as shown in the passport.  

Your Profession: In this section, you need to fill in your occupation. 

Your Home Address: Your address in your home country. This includes the house number, names of the town, city, state, country, and postal code. 

After filling in the above details, we were able to proceed to the next section. 

Your Passport Details 

We have listed below what you need to mention in this section: 

Your Passport No.: Every passport will have a unique number on its information page. You must enter this number in this field.  

Country of issuance: The name of the country that issued your passport as mentioned in your passport. 

Date of issuance: The date on which your passport was issued.  

Valid till: The expiry date of your passport. From this date onwards, your passport is deemed invalid.  

Date of entry in Angola: The date on which you will arrive in the country.  

Date of departure: The date on which you will leave the country. Note that an Angolan tourist visa is valid for 30 days and you can extend the visa for another 30 days. After that, your stay in the country will be considered illegal.  

Your Contact details  

Our advice is to fill this section carefully. We have mentioned the fields below: 

Your Telephone number: You must ensure that there is no error when you provide the phone number. This is the contact number that the authorities will use to reach you in case of emergencies.  

Your Email address: Your electronic mailing address. This will typically have your name and the name of your service provider.  

Your Accommodation Details in Angola

While filling out the Angola pre-entry visa form, we had to share our accommodation details in Angola. The fields that you need to fill are as follows: 

Your Place of Accommodation: The name of the hotel/resort wherein you are planning to stay. It is important that you book your rooms before applying for a pre-entry visa for Angola. 

City: The name of the city in which your hotel/resort is located.  

Street: The name or number of the street. 

House no: If you are staying in a house, you have to mention the number of the house. 

Your Contact Details in Angola 

For this section, we have outlined the fields below: 

Full name: The name of your contact person in Angola.   

National ID no.: Your national identity number.  

Date of issuance: The date of issuance of your national ID.  

Date of expiry: The date of expiry of your national ID.  

Contact details: This includes your telephone number, email address, and home address of the person.  

Once you enter all the details, you will get a reference number for future communication. You need to mention this number in all communications with Angola immigration and foreign services.  

Uploading Passport-size Image 

The next step is to upload your photograph. We were strictly required to adhere to the specifications mentioned on the website. The size of your photograph should not exceed 200 KB, and it should be in JPEG format.   

Uploading Your Passport Information Page  

The next task is to upload the information page of your passport, which will typically have your passport number and your other personal details. We had to ensure that the scanned copy was in JPEG format and its size did not exceed 70 KB.  

Uploading Supporting Documents  

You can choose to upload all the supporting documents together or separately. You can also upload these files in both JPEG or TIFF formats. The compiled size should not exceed 15360 for TIFF files or 350 KB for JPEG files.  

Supporting Documents to be Uploaded Include: 

When we were applying for Angola pre-entry visa, we had to provide the following supporting documents: 

International vaccination certificate: This is issued by the World Health Organization and is sort of a medical report. It was proof that we were vaccinated against certain communicable diseases.  

Proof of accommodation: Our Hotel/resort reservation details.  

Proof of livelihood: Documents that supported our economic solvency. 

Ticket reservation details: We had to upload a scanned copy of the flight tickets.  

Please note you can re-upload all the documents if you find something is amiss. You have to click the ‘reset all’ button. Once the uploading is completed, you have to click the ‘uploading completed’ button to proceed to the preview page.  

Preview of Pre-entry Visa for Angola 

On this page, you can preview the data submitted by you. Note that the same information will appear on the pre-entry visa. It should be error-free and must match that in the passport. Otherwise, you may be denied a tourist visa on arrival in Angola. If there are any errors, you can go back to that page and enter the correct data.  

After reviewing the page, you can submit the document. You do not need to make the payment at the time of online application if you are doing it by yourself. However, if you are going through an agent, you may be asked for a service fee. However, we will advise you to verify with the embassy about the service charges. 

Conclusion 

Note that without approval mail for the pre-entry visa from the Angola migration and foreign service, you cannot get a visa on arrival in Angola. You are also required to carry a printed copy of the Angolan pre-entry visa with you. 

The approval mail usually gets delivered within six working days. However, some embassies may take up to ten days to process a pre-entry visa. Once you receive the mail, you can plan your journey. With our step-by-step guide for Angola pre-entry visa requirements, you’ll be able to navigate the visa process easily and efficiently.