DR Congo entry requirements, by passport
DR Congo visa requirements at a glance: 7 of the 198 passports VisaRadar tracks can enter DR Congo without arranging a visa beforehand: visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorisation. The other 191 must obtain a visa before they travel.
Which passport do you hold?
We'll take you straight to the entry requirements for DR Congo for your nationality.
What we've verified for DR Congo
Beyond the yes/no matrix, we've checked these against an official primary source (last checked 2 October 2026). The specifics depend on your nationality: open your passport's row in the table for the detail that applies to you.
- e-Visa fee: 300 USD
- Typical processing time
- Required documents (3)
- Required vaccinations
- Overstay penalties
- Stay and transit rules
Sources: evisa.gouv.cd (official e-Visa portal of the Directorate General of Migration: who can apply, validity, seven-day airport visa, 72-hour processing, fees); exteriores.gob.es (travel advice of Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the DRC, updated 18 August 2026: advice against non-essential travel, Ebola, passport, visa at the Embassy in Madrid, Brazzaville, refusals at the border, yellow fever, risk areas, departure tax); gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/democratic-republic-of-the-congo (UK Government, updated 16 September 2026: consular visa processing time, letter of invitation, Rwandan and Ugandan stamps, Ebola screening, departure tax, polio, problem items); data.unesco.org (World Heritage List). All checked on 2 October 2026.
This table summarises the exact entry mechanism for every passport we track. The difference between entering visa-free, with an electronic authorisation, with an e-Visa, or with a traditional visa is explained in visa, e-Visa, and electronic authorisation: what's the difference. How we verify every row before publishing it is on methodology.
Base entry rules refreshed 12 October 2026. Published: 2 October 2026.
| Passport | Requirement | Max. stay |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free | ||
| Burundi | Visa-free | — |
| Kenya | Visa on arrival | — |
| Mauritius | Visa on arrival | — |
| Republic of the Congo | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Rwanda | Visa-free | — |
| Tanzania | Visa on arrival | — |
| Zimbabwe | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Visa required | ||
| Afghanistan | e-Visa | — |
| Albania | e-Visa | — |
| Algeria | e-Visa | — |
| Andorra | e-Visa | — |
| Angola | e-Visa | — |
| Antigua and Barbuda | e-Visa | — |
| Argentina | e-Visa | — |
| Armenia | e-Visa | — |
| Australia | e-Visa | — |
| Austria | e-Visa | — |
| Azerbaijan | e-Visa | — |
| Bahamas | e-Visa | — |
| Bahrain | e-Visa | — |
| Bangladesh | e-Visa | — |
| Barbados | e-Visa | — |
| Belarus | e-Visa | — |
| Belgium | e-Visa | — |
| Belize | e-Visa | — |
| Benin | e-Visa | — |
| Bhutan | e-Visa | — |
| Bolivia | e-Visa | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | e-Visa | — |
| Botswana | e-Visa | — |
| Brazil | e-Visa | — |
| Brunei | e-Visa | — |
| Bulgaria | e-Visa | — |
| Burkina Faso | e-Visa | — |
| Cambodia | e-Visa | — |
| Cameroon | e-Visa | — |
| Canada | e-Visa | — |
| Cape Verde | e-Visa | — |
| Central African Republic | e-Visa | — |
| Chad | e-Visa | — |
| Chile | e-Visa | — |
| China | e-Visa | — |
| Colombia | e-Visa | — |
| Comoros | e-Visa | — |
| Costa Rica | e-Visa | — |
| Croatia | e-Visa | — |
| Cuba | e-Visa | — |
| Cyprus | e-Visa | — |
| Czech Republic | e-Visa | — |
| Denmark | e-Visa | — |
| Djibouti | e-Visa | — |
| Dominica | e-Visa | — |
| Dominican Republic | e-Visa | — |
| Ecuador | e-Visa | — |
| Egypt | e-Visa | — |
| El Salvador | e-Visa | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Eritrea | e-Visa | — |
| Estonia | e-Visa | — |
| Eswatini | e-Visa | — |
| Ethiopia | e-Visa | — |
| Fiji | e-Visa | — |
| Finland | e-Visa | — |
| France | e-Visa | — |
| Gabon | e-Visa | — |
| Gambia | e-Visa | — |
| Georgia | e-Visa | — |
| Germany | e-Visa | — |
| Ghana | e-Visa | — |
| Greece | e-Visa | — |
| Grenada | e-Visa | — |
| Guatemala | e-Visa | — |
| Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | e-Visa | — |
| Guyana | e-Visa | — |
| Haiti | e-Visa | — |
| Honduras | e-Visa | — |
| Hong Kong | e-Visa | — |
| Hungary | e-Visa | — |
| Iceland | e-Visa | — |
| India | e-Visa | — |
| Indonesia | e-Visa | — |
| Iran | e-Visa | — |
| Iraq | e-Visa | — |
| Ireland | e-Visa | — |
| Israel | e-Visa | — |
| Italy | e-Visa | — |
| Ivory Coast | e-Visa | — |
| Jamaica | e-Visa | — |
| Japan | e-Visa | — |
| Jordan | e-Visa | — |
| Kazakhstan | e-Visa | — |
| Kiribati | e-Visa | — |
| Kosovo | e-Visa | — |
| Kuwait | e-Visa | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | e-Visa | — |
| Laos | e-Visa | — |
| Latvia | e-Visa | — |
| Lebanon | e-Visa | — |
| Lesotho | e-Visa | — |
| Liberia | e-Visa | — |
| Libya | e-Visa | — |
| Liechtenstein | e-Visa | — |
| Lithuania | e-Visa | — |
| Luxembourg | e-Visa | — |
| Macao | e-Visa | — |
| Madagascar | e-Visa | — |
| Malawi | e-Visa | — |
| Malaysia | e-Visa | — |
| Maldives | e-Visa | — |
| Mali | e-Visa | — |
| Malta | e-Visa | — |
| Marshall Islands | e-Visa | — |
| Mauritania | e-Visa | — |
| Mexico | e-Visa | — |
| Micronesia | e-Visa | — |
| Moldova | e-Visa | — |
| Monaco | e-Visa | — |
| Mongolia | e-Visa | — |
| Montenegro | e-Visa | — |
| Morocco | e-Visa | — |
| Mozambique | e-Visa | — |
| Myanmar | e-Visa | — |
| Namibia | e-Visa | — |
| Nauru | e-Visa | — |
| Nepal | e-Visa | — |
| Netherlands | e-Visa | — |
| New Zealand | e-Visa | — |
| Nicaragua | e-Visa | — |
| Niger | e-Visa | — |
| Nigeria | e-Visa | — |
| North Korea | e-Visa | — |
| North Macedonia | e-Visa | — |
| Norway | e-Visa | — |
| Oman | e-Visa | — |
| Pakistan | e-Visa | — |
| Palau | e-Visa | — |
| Palestine | e-Visa | — |
| Panama | e-Visa | — |
| Papua New Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Paraguay | e-Visa | — |
| Peru | e-Visa | — |
| Philippines | e-Visa | — |
| Poland | e-Visa | — |
| Portugal | e-Visa | — |
| Qatar | e-Visa | — |
| Romania | e-Visa | — |
| Russia | e-Visa | — |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | e-Visa | — |
| Saint Lucia | e-Visa | — |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | e-Visa | — |
| Samoa | e-Visa | — |
| San Marino | e-Visa | — |
| Sao Tome and Principe | e-Visa | — |
| Saudi Arabia | e-Visa | — |
| Senegal | e-Visa | — |
| Serbia | e-Visa | — |
| Seychelles | e-Visa | — |
| Sierra Leone | e-Visa | — |
| Singapore | e-Visa | — |
| Slovakia | e-Visa | — |
| Slovenia | e-Visa | — |
| Solomon Islands | e-Visa | — |
| Somalia | e-Visa | — |
| South Africa | e-Visa | — |
| South Korea | e-Visa | — |
| South Sudan | e-Visa | — |
| Spain | e-Visa | — |
| Sri Lanka | e-Visa | — |
| Sudan | e-Visa | — |
| Suriname | e-Visa | — |
| Sweden | e-Visa | — |
| Switzerland | e-Visa | — |
| Syria | e-Visa | — |
| Taiwan | e-Visa | — |
| Tajikistan | e-Visa | — |
| Thailand | e-Visa | — |
| Timor-Leste | e-Visa | — |
| Togo | e-Visa | — |
| Tonga | e-Visa | — |
| Trinidad and Tobago | e-Visa | — |
| Tunisia | e-Visa | — |
| Turkey | e-Visa | — |
| Turkmenistan | e-Visa | — |
| Tuvalu | e-Visa | — |
| Uganda | e-Visa | — |
| Ukraine | e-Visa | — |
| United Arab Emirates | e-Visa | — |
| United Kingdom | e-Visa | — |
| United States | e-Visa | — |
| Uruguay | e-Visa | — |
| Uzbekistan | e-Visa | — |
| Vanuatu | e-Visa | — |
| Vatican | e-Visa | — |
| Venezuela | e-Visa | — |
| Vietnam | e-Visa | — |
| Yemen | e-Visa | — |
| Zambia | e-Visa | — |
DR Congo rules for every passport
Vaccinations, customs limits and penalties are the same for every traveller.
Vaccinations
- Yellow fever: required for entry, recorded in the WHO international vaccination booklet.
- Polio: a certificate is required in some circumstances, according to the UK Government.
- There is a Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the east and north-east of the country, declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO; there is no vaccine against this strain.
Overstay penalties
The penalty for staying longer than authorised could not be confirmed against an official Congolese source.
Grounds for refusal
- Not carrying the yellow fever vaccination certificate.
- Arriving without a visa or an approved e-Visa.
- A passport with less than six months' validity.
- The border officer's decision: holding a visa does not guarantee entry.
Do you need a different visa for Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, or Goma?
No. DR Congo sets the requirements, so entering through Kinshasa asks for the same as entering through Lubumbashi or Goma. If you're arriving overland or through a small border post, check that separately: some countries apply their own rules to specific crossings.
What does change is where you file the application when a visa is needed, and that depends on the country you live in rather than the city you're travelling to.
What draws travellers to DR Congo
The DRC has five properties on the World Heritage List, all natural and four of them on the List of World Heritage in Danger: the Virunga, Kahuzi-Biega, Garamba and Salonga national parks and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Virunga, with volcanoes, savannahs and the snow-capped Rwenzori peaks, is a refuge for the mountain gorilla. But tourist travel is not advisable today: Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all non-essential travel to the country, asks travellers never to go to the east and north-east (Ituri, both Kivus, Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Haut-Uele and Bas-Uele, and the Mai-Ndombe and Kwilu area between Kwamouth and Bandundu) or within 50 kilometres of the border with the Central African Republic, and rates the rest of the country as medium risk, including Kinshasa, where it advises against walking around the city. On top of that there is the Ebola outbreak in the east.
Sources for this section: data.unesco.org (World Heritage List: Virunga National Park, Kahuzi-Biega, Garamba and Okapi reserve, in danger, and Salonga National Park); Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advice for the DRC. Accessed 2 October 2026.
Where can DR Congo passport holders travel visa-free? →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.