What you need to enter Somalia with a Central African passport
Central African citizens need an electronic visa for Somalia, applied for online before the trip.
- Minimum passport validity
- 6 months from entry
Why is this passport validity required? →
Last verified: 6 October 2026
Verified practical details
The visa is applied for before your trip, and the procedure is Visa on arrival or from an embassy. Here are the verified details:
Authorisation system
Visa on arrival or from an embassy
It is single-entry, valid for one month and costs 60 dollars in cash. The UK Government says instead that an eVisa must be obtained before flying to Mogadishu, and warns of a data breach in that system. In Somaliland, the federal eVisa is not valid for entry at Hargeisa, where a visa is bought on arrival.
Visa, e-Visa, or electronic authorisation? What's the difference →
Required documents
- Passport valid for at least six months from entry.
- A letter of invitation explaining the purpose and length of the trip, from whoever organises it.
Transit rules
The land border with Kenya is closed. Spain's Foreign Ministry asks travellers to give the Embassy in Nairobi their dates, exact location, security arrangements and contact numbers.
More Somalia rules
They don't depend on your passport, so they are on the Somalia page:
Official portal: . Destination data verified on 6 October 2026. Sources: exteriores.gob.es (travel advice of Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Somalia, updated 28 May 2026: advice against travel, visa, fee, letter of invitation, vaccinations, risk areas, Embassy in Nairobi); gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/somalia (UK Government: eVisa for Mogadishu, data breach, visa in Hargeisa). All checked on 6 October 2026.
This pair in context
In the other direction, citizens of Somalia need a visa to enter the Central African Republic. See the Somalia → Central African Republic page.
All 9 passports from Middle Africa that VisaRadar tracks need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival to enter Somalia. Same result as the Central African Republic: Angola, Cameroon, Chad, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
With a passport from the Central African Republic, in the rest of Eastern Africa you can enter Kenya, Rwanda and Seychelles visa-free; you need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival for Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; you need a visa for Eritrea.
A passport from the Central African Republic ranks 168 of 199 in the VisaRadar passport ranking and reaches 47 of 198 destinations without applying for a visa in advance.
Counts from the same requirements matrix behind this page's verdict, using the UN M49 subregions.
Frequently asked questions
Do Central African citizens need a visa for Somalia?
Yes, but it's processed online before you travel (e-visa), no consulate visit required.
What minimum passport validity is required?
Passport valid for at least six months from entry.
What currency is used in Somalia?
Somali Shilling (SOS).
What do Central African passport holders need for the countries near Somalia?
With a passport from the Central African Republic, in the rest of Eastern Africa you can enter Kenya, Rwanda and Seychelles visa-free; you need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival for Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; you need a visa for Eritrea.
Related pages
See Somalia requirements for other passports →
See entry requirements to Central African Republic for other passports →
Every visa-free country for Central African passport holders →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.