How to get a visa (and permits) for Sudan in 2024

By Joan Torres 120 Comments Last updated on April 29, 2024

Getting a Sudanese visa isn’t complicated but there is some bureaucracy that needs to be done.

This post is kept regularly updated thanks to input from some amazing travelers.

I also recommend checking the comments section of this blog.

For more information read my travel guide to Sudan.

In this visa guide for Sudan you will find:

Table of Contents

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How to get your visa on arrival (VOA) for Sudan

For your information, it is possible to get a VOA for Sudan, but only if you fly into Khartoum, and you need to arrange it in advance.

The VOA is not available at land borders.

How to pre-arrange your VOA for Sudan

Basically, you’ll need to get in touch with a local tour operator, with whom you’ll have to book a tour around Sudan.

Alternatively, independent travelers may also arrange it via the Acropole Hotel.

For that, they usually charge around $100, plus they require you to stay at least two nights with them.

It’s an expensive hotel, nevertheless, with prices starting at $100.

Moreover, the VOA will cost you $100, or $150 if you hold a US passport.

How to get a visa for Sudan via the embassy

If you plan to travel overland into Sudan, via either Egypt or Ethiopia, you will have to get your visa at the embassy.

For that, the following options apply.

Read: Sudan-Egypt border crossing

Getting your Sudan tourist visa at the embassy in your home country

If your country or city has a Sudanese embassy, that’s great, as you can apply for it from there, but it’s sort of a hassle, especially because each embassy has its own rules and some of them require a letter of invitation.

How to get the Letter of Invitation for your Sudanese visa

You can get it through a local tour operator or independent travelers can also get it through the Acropole Hotel.

The hotel typically charges $110 in exchange for staying 2 nights with them.

How long does it take to apply for your Sudan visa?

Officially, the whole visa process takes 3 weeks but there are travel reports suggesting that it can take up to 6 weeks, depending on the embassy, so it’s wise to apply in advance.

How much does the visa for Sudan cost via your embassy?

European-based embassies typically charge $80-$100.

Also, if you are not sure of your date of entry, it would probably be better to apply for it in Egypt or Ethiopia.

How to get your Sudan tourist visa in Cairo

Today, this is the easiest place.

Things have gotten much easier in Cairo.

Before, you needed to get a letter of recommendation from your own embassy in Cairo, and the process used to take 1 or 2 weeks.

Now, you can get it on the same day and it costs $150, and all you need is:

This is the embassy location.

How to get your Sudan visa in Aswan (Egypt)

This used to be the easiest place to apply for a Sudanese visa, but it’s a bit unreliable since the authorities stop issuing them every now and then sending travelers back to Cairo, which is quite a detour.

The last update I got in March 2023 was that they are issuing them again but know that there’s a small risk.

As of today, these are the Sudan visa requirements in Aswan:

There is a shop 100 meters from the Consulate where you can make copies.

If you go at 9am, you might have the visa ready by 2pm but remember that this will depend on the officer’s mood.

About the Sudan Consulate in Aswan:

How to get your Sudan visa in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

According to a reader of this blog, things have got easier in Addis Ababa.

However, bear in mind that, sometimes, they may give you trouble if you don’t have a letter of invitation.

For the visa, the process is quick and it only takes 1 working day.

It costs $68.

Make sure to arrive early (around 8 a.m.) as they only accept the applications until 11am.

Bring the invitation letter, a copy of your passport, 2 photos, the address of your stay in Sudan, the address and tel number of your sponsor in Sudan.

Read: How to travel to Ethiopia

How to get a Sudan visa in Nairobi (Kenya)

This is old but, in September 2018, a traveler reported that he got his visa for Sudan in less than 24 hours.

He didn’t need to present any special document other than his passport and the usual stuff. The price was $55.

sudan visa
My visa for Sudan

Registration and permits needed for traveling in Sudan

In Sudan, you’ll need to register within 3 days of your arrival.

Travel reports on this matter are more than welcome.

Getting your registration in Khartoum

You can register your passport at this location.

This can be usually done by your sponsor, if you have one.

Otherwise, doing it by yourself can be a time-consuming process.

The registration costs 5,000 SDG.

Getting your registration if traveling overland

Whatever country you are traveling from, once you are at the Sudanese border, the authorities will give you a special form that needs to be filled out.

You need to keep a copy of it and not lose it.

Why?

Because you’ll have to present it at the police station for registration.

Registration at the Wadi Halfa police station

From the moment you cross the border, you have 3 days (or 4 days, unofficially) to register at the police station.

If coming from Egypt, Wadi Halfa is the best place.

In Wadi Halfa, the whole process took less than 20 minutes.

For that, you need to go to the police station and give in your registration form.

You’ll need a copy of your passport (you can make a copy there for 1SDG).

They will also ask you for a picture but, if you don’t have it, it’s not a problem.

Registration is a must. If you don’t register, they could make you pay a huge fine for leaving the country. When I was traveling in Azerbaijan, I also didn’t register and, at the border, had to choose between paying 200 USD or getting deported and banned from entering the country within a year.

Getting your travel permit at the Ministry of Tourism

A travel permit is needed to travel around the country.

However, if your final destination is Khartoum, you don’t need to get this permit because essentially, it’s a permit to get out of Khartoum, and the police do ask for it all the time.

Again, if you have a sponsor, they should take care of it but if not, you should first head to:

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Wildlife.

Here’s the location.

What are the required documents?

They will issue you a form which you’ll need to present at the Tourism Police office to get the actual permit.

Other registrations

In some cities and villages, the hotels ask you to register at the local security office.

It’s a pain in the ass but it’s pretty straightforward and you don’t have to pay.

Just go there, tell them the name of the hotel and how many days are you planning to stay.

More information for visiting Sudan

šŸ“¢ In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.

Donā€™t forget to check our travel guide to Sudan.

As well as all our Sudan articles:

120 comments

HEY! useful post indeed. I got my Sudan visa last month May 2017 in Aswan. I gave my passport Monday morning and got it back Wednesday 11 am. It seems an exception was made as I was indeed told that the visa would take about a week. Friendly people that rushed my visa so that I could take the boat to Wadi Halfa Wednesday afternoon.

Hey ma, thanks for your comment. that’s amazing! I am going to update it on the post, saying that, in some occasions, you can get it in 2 days. So, everything was as I told in the article? No changes? cheers man

Hi Joantow, I dont know where to write these comments on your very helpful and Well written Pages on Sudan but now I just try here !
Ive just backpacked Sudan for 14 days: Came to Wadi Halfa by boat (nice and relaxed!) , then Abri ( was invited to a Nubian family to stay so I didnt need bolster the fortunes of the businessman Mr. Magzoub who has risen his guesthouseprices to 300 pr Night ( no wifi or breakfast), not negotiable. Fortunately theres a cheap sudanese hotel very near, I could buy a room with lock for myself for 60 pounds.
After AbrĆ­ I went to Karima via Dongola ( not much to see there), then Atmara with a side trip to the Meroe pyramids, then Port Sudan and Suakin ( do the latter on the way to save 2×1 hr transport!), then Kassala ( a colorful highlight with tribes coming to the market set at the foot of the weird but relatively small Taka mountains and now on my way to Khartoum by flight! Just to save time for busses are good, you need buy ticket the day before as busses are leaving VERY early – and precise!
One very important correction to your info: By now you can ONLY regĆ­strate your arrival in Sudan at the ports of entry, e.g. Khartoum, Wadi Halfa, Port Sudan and a town near Ethiopian border..I was not aware of this an used quite a lot of time in Abri, Dongola and Karima with the police in vain before I finally after 5 days! got regĆ­strated straightforward in Port Sudan foreign immigration office at a 612 pound cost. Then did not say anything about the delay, just put the stamps in my passport:-)
One more thing: It was not possible to change money in Abri (again use Wadi Halfa!) in Dongola I changed in the Islamic Bank (!) to the black market rate of 25 pound pr usd and later on the rate was a bit lower. Also get a local simcard ( preferably Zain which is better than MTN ) in Wadi Halfa , I got one in Abri that didt work. Be sure to see it work while you’re in the shop! There are weekly and monthly schemes etc so ask for how long the card will be working.

I am in Aswan, January 2019 and I was just at the Sudan Embassy.

I was told I need a letter of Invitation from the Sudan Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I hold a US passport and I was told that rule is for Americans

Hey – great article and very useful! Just wondering if you have to pay an exit tax too and how much this costs? Thanks

Hey! As far as I know, there is no exit fee. But I left Sudan by plane so not sure if they would charge you when leaving overland. However, I’ve never heard of it. Cheers mate

Hi Joantow
I’m going to try to get the Sudanese visa in Aswan but in my passport you can see the stamp of Taba so I think is quite obvious I been in Israel…..do you think they will reject for sure my requests?
Thanks
Nic

Hey! I am sorry to say that but I think you have no chance… And if I was you, I wouldn’t even try because then they might put you in some sort of black list and who knows if you would be also rejected in future applications. I am not sure about the second but I wouldn’t take the risk. My recommendation is that you double check with a second source, just to make sure. Maybe you are interested in this article as well: https://againstthecompass.com/en/avoid-israeli-passport-stamp/ Good luck!

Hey,

I wanted to checked I don’t have any stamps from the Israeli border but one thing I did want to check is if I don’t have a Jordanian exit stamp if the Sudanese will know that I have been to Israel or will they not check in that much detail?

Hi! First of all, what a useful article! Second, just to be sure, when I come apply at in Aswan, I won t need a letter of recommandation or a letter of invite? I have a norwegian passport.
Thanks in advance

Alfons

I did my visa last week in Addis without a problem. They gave it the next day. It was entry visa. The cost is $68 now. If you have an invitation letter, they don’t make any problems. Make sure to arrive early (around 8 a.m.) as they close for lunch break around 11 am and they don’t accept any applications afterward. Have the invitation letter, a copy of your passport, 2 photos, address of stay in Sudan, address and tel number of your sponsor in Sudan. The embassy looks messy and it is easy to be forgotten, but all the travelers I met managed to get their visas the next day. Both entry and transit visas.

Hi ,
Can anyone advise me how to get an entry visa to sudan for a male egyptian citizen living in Uae. Bear in mind he is a cabin crew and he cant leave his original passport ..

Thanks

Hi,
Planning to apply for a tourist visa in Addis Ababa but it’s not completely clear to me how to obtain a letter of invitation. Send a tour organisation and a hotel an email but so far no replies. Anyone can recommend me what is the best way to get hold of a LOI?

Thanks,

Tim

Hi,

I’m planning to apply for a visa in Addis Ababa but I’m still not sure what is the best way to obtain a letter of invitation. Anyone can recommend a agency or hotel that provides a LOI for a independent traveler.

Thanks,

Tim

It looks as though visa requirements may have changed very recently. Where before (according to the embassy in London) a letter of invitation was sufficient, now embassies can only issue the visa when you have an entry permit number from Khartoum. Meaning have paid a substantial sum to someone in Khartoum to go to the ministry and get it for you. This is London anyway, where my friend arrived with an invitation from Bougainvilla , her form, pix etc and was told no, come back only with an entry permit. It looks like you don’t need to be sponsored for the entire time (we are tring to enter from Wadi Halfa) but even that is unclear. Has anyone succeeded in the last week with just an invitation, and where?

If you get you visa in Aswan, you don’t need to get this permit. Also, rules per embassy are very different. For example, I know that in Madrid they don’t require it also.

I will be traveling north from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and cannot go to Aswan first unless I fly over Sudan into Egypt. I have done a lot of research, but still am confused if Americans need to wait longer or not

Thanks for the post! I will try to go through Sudan on April 1st 2018. Right now I am in Malawi so I have a bit of aways to go. If I cannot secure this in Ethiopia I may just take the visa on arrival option from the Acropole Hotel (I would rather not do this because you are forced to stay with them and take their tours the whole time).

Just went through Sudan a couple days ago. Based on all the research, it was just going to take too long for an American to obtain the visa in Addis Ababa. I even went to the Sudanese Embassy in Tanzania and they said that it will take at least 2 weeks to confirm the name with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khartoum. I contacted Acropole Hotel and they were able to arrange an Entry Permit for Visa on Arrival at Khartoum airport. This did cost $180 for their services on top of $150 for the visa fee at the airport. The most basic room in Acropole was $80 + taxes, breakfast included. Definitely not a backpacker budget. I did meet another American who found another sponsor that charged ~$130 and he stayed at a hotel that was $30 cheaper. For the Meroe, I went on a tour that included the pyramids, Naqa, and Musawarrat in a private car with lunch for $250 (again, you can find cheaper than this if you have time to shop around the different tour operators). One interesting thing is that there are no more photo or travel permits anymore as of this year. You still have to register with the police within 3 days of arrival (Acropole did this for you). Bus travel is easy and cheap to head north or to Port Sudan. I just went straight to Wadi Halfa (missed my stop at Dongola) to enter Egypt. I stayed one night there, but didn’t register with the police and no one asked me questions when I left Sudan. There is a departure tax at the Wadi Halfa border of 130 Sudanese Pounds. Beware the Egyptian side: it will take 2-3 hours to get your visa and pass through.

Great information! Unfortunately, I tried to apply for a visa in Cairo with an email from the US embassy stating they do not give out a loi. I was told that I needed to have sponsorship in order to get a visa and I am now completely lost. Have you heard of anyone having a similar problem?

Thanks. Yeah I looked at this thread but in the end, the US passport holder ended up giving up and skipping Sudan. Difficult part about the process is it seems to change frequently and there is little information about the requirements held against US passport holders. I’ll try to find out any information I can and share it here.

Hi Eric, a friend and I have just returned from Sudan. She was told in London in December the visa was no problem, but by January when she went to apply the rules had changed, requiring sponsorship from Khartoum. I got the sponsorship number and I applied in Cairo, getting the visa in two hours. We got it throufh the Acropole Hotel which was quite expensive. However, as of 1 February people were still getting it cheaply in Aswan with no sponsorship. I dont know ahout Americans, but the Acropole said they were not a problem if you go the sponsorship way, which also wasnt too time consuming. All of this may change of course. Sudan is extraordinary, it’s totally worth the trouble. By the way, the Aswan Wadi Halfa ferry is fantastic. The ferry is great and the lake majestic. Hope this helps.

Thanks Terry. I’ll try to get in contact with the hotel and see what they can do. I figured if all else fails, I will make a last ditch effort while in Aswan and hope for the best. It would be a shame to not get to Sudan as I have only heard good things about the country. I’ll update everyone once if I do figure it out as US passports seem to be an exception to the normal process to get a visa.

I ended up not trying to get the visa in Aswan as I had trouble finding a place willing to administer the yellow fever vaccine to foreigners in Cairo. I called all the clinics and hospitals that locals recommended and none of them would provide the shot to foreigners.

Update: After talking with the Sudanese Embassy in Tanzania I just decided to take the Visa on Arrival option with the Acropole Hotel. The official there told me the Sudanese Visa takes minimum two weeks for Americans and I have read before that the Egypt Visa takes 15 days for Americans (you need this before you can get Sudan Visa). I cannot wait in Ethiopia for a month and decided to just pay the extra money required. Before I said that you were forced to take their tours: Iā€™m not sure if this is entirely true, because Acropole said they would help me arrange transport to Wadi Halfa and find a hotel there for a night so I can cross into Egypt the next day. This shows you do not have to stay with Acropole the whole time you are in Sudan if you take the visa on arrival. Once I actually go to Sudan and finish I will post another update.

Hi Jonathan, I got my visa in Cairo with the help of Acropole, but travel on an Australian passport. We came on the Aswan ferry to Wadi Halfa, and were in Sudan two weeks before going to Khartoum, so you definitely do not have to do your entire stay with Acropole. They only charged us in advance for visa support, not the hotel, so in theory we didn’t need to stay there at all. It is expensive, but we actually enjoyed our stay as many interesting people also stay there.

June 2018
Dropped my (UK) passport on Sunday and requested next day. They obliged without fuss! There was a German and a French couple who also dropped/picked up on same day. Took exactly 2 hours to request visa. As it was Ramadan they didnā€™t open until 10 am. Pickup took an hour.

For bus to Wadi Halfa. Go to the bus station near the Train station (NOT the new station out of town). Ticket was 300 Egyptian pounds.

Exchanged money at station; 1 Egyptian = 2 Sudanese. USD$1 =31.50 Sudanese.

To follow up; I did not get a registration paper at the Wadi Halfa border (they did register me, but didnā€™t offer a copy and I forgot to ask). I registered with the police at the Airport (office is on the right as you come down the street via the ā€˜departureā€™ entrance). Was incredibly simple. Required copy of passport, sudan visa, letter from hotel I was staying at and 540 Sudanese pounds. Took about 10 min. They did Not ask for a copy of what registration paper from port of entry.

I also followed numerous leads on getting a travel/photo permit. Found the new, new Ministry of Touriam office. They confirmed what my hotel said (which I didnā€™t believe at first) which is that no permit is required now. ā€˜No one will stop me travellingā€™. Excellent.

Confirmed. Iā€™ve left the country and was never asked for a any kind of travel or photo permit. In fact during my trip to Gallabat I was never even asked to show my passport, so a relaxation indeed.

As a note, the location of the Ministry of Tourism on this page is incorrect. Theyā€™ve since closed this office and relocated. The new location is at ā€œ15.598023, 32.577628ā€.

Which US Embassy needs to give permission for aswan to issue the visa? I asked the embassy in khartoum and they had no information? Is it the Embassy in Cairo?

“Sudan visa in Cairo (Egypt) ā€“ you need a letter of invitation from your embassy. ” Excuse me, what does it mean? Do I have to go to my national embassy i Cairo?

Yes it’s more like a letter of recommendation. That’s that’s the general rule but I suggest you go to the Sudan embassy first to see what they say. In any case, if you are already in Egypt is easier to get it in Aswan

What difference does it make now or in December? When you are in Egypt you can easily go to Aswan, where you can get your visa in just 1 to 3 days with very little bureaucracy. In Cairo, you will definitely need to make different trips to 2 different embassies, starting in the Embassy of Sudan and reports say that it takes several days, so unless you have a very specific reason to get it there, there is no real need

Hi Piotr, I got a visa in Cairo since I was meeting a friend who already had a visa, and I didn’t want to take a chance it would take longer than a day or two in Aswan. This was January, so of course everything and nothing may have changed by then. It was super easy– I came in the morning and two hours later I had it. I didn’t have a letter or recommendation from my embassy as the Australian embassy in Cairo won’t do them. I don’t know about others, but it was no problem. We booked a room at the Acropole so they gave us a letter; I have no idea if it was needed or not, and there are cheaper places. The visa in Cairo is more costly though– US$100 rather than $50! One thing to note is that various websites mention two different addresses, I guess they moved at one point. I’m pretty sure it was the Dokki one rather than Garden City. By the way, we took the ferry from Aswan to Wadi Halfa and it was wonderful. Don’t believe anything you read otherwise. Cheap, comfortable, clean, friendly. Enjoy!

Terry, thanks for your important advises! But one more question: in Aswan Embassy wants a confirmation of booking ? ( you mentioned – Acropol hotel).

Glad to help, but I don’t know about Aswan. From what I’ve read here, it sounds easier than Cairo. I think there are cheaper hotels than the Acropole who would give you a letter even without advance payment, which would probably be wise to have just in case. I have gotten the impression maybe things are lightening up a bit visa wise, but maybe not. If you are not on a really tight budget, I recommend the Acropole. It’s quite a treat after traveling Sudan, and the people coming in and out of there are really interesting. But mainly I think a letter from them goes a long ways– I think they have connections!. That said, Sudan and is a place where a smile goes a very long way, so just keep smiling and don’t worry too much.

Message from yesterday / Acropole Hotel:
Dear Peter,
Greetings
You can apply to the Sudan Embassy in London:-
Please send me the following information :-
Ā· Name in full as in the passports
Ā· Nationality
Ā· Passport number
Ā· Date of expiry
Ā· Date of arrival in Sudan
Ā· Date of departure from Sudan
Ā· Application of visa at the Embassy of London
Ā· You still have to pay a deposit of 100 euro
Ā· The letter is free & the 100 euro we shall deduct it from the hotel accommodation invoice
Ā· Hope all clear now
Best regards
GEorge
…. So, they wanna 200 euro in advance !!!
Do you know any hotel where I can book, get confirmation via e-mail, and next cancel ???

Hi ! I received a similar reply. They request a deposit prior to sending the recommendation letter. How did you finally manage?

My pleasure– your website put me on to Sudan in the first place. I’d just like to confirm for people what you say– it is the friendliest place you will ever go, even more than Iran, or Bhutan, and that’s saying a lot. Also, I found it lovely for women; no hassles, lots of respect, and of course, lots of access to the women.

Hi Terry, thanks for the update! We want to take the ferry from Aswan to Wadi Halfa in December 2018. Can you tell me which class you took it? I read somewhere that first class was too cold (air conditioning) and that the deck was more comfortable. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this!
Also, do you have an update on which days the ferry runs? Some say Sundays. A hostel told me that it recently changed to Mondays and Thursdays.
Thanks!

Hi T– actually I don’t think there were classes, but that could have changed if the ferry boat has changed. There was just deck, or cabins. They were much nicer than we had expected– clean and comfortable though nothing fancy, with an upper and a lower berth, kind of like some trains. There was no air con, but at that time of year (January) we definitely didn’t need it. It also included food, which was quite decent. I have no idea however about days, which could have changed at this point anyway. Enjoy!

Hi, apparently it is not possible to obtain a visa in Aswan at the moment. When and if it’s possible again is unknown. In Egypt you have to get it in Cairo.

We’re cycling in Africa right now and in a whatsapp group with people who do so to. Several of them had to go back to Cairo.

I am receiving quite a few emails from people claiming different things about getting the visa in Aswan. Some people say that it is not possible to get it there anymore, while others claim that price has increased to 100USD (instead of 50USD) and it takes more than a week (instead of 1 or 2 days).
I don’t know whether these are rumors or facts but I would really appreciate if there is anyone who’s tried themselves in the past few days / weeks.
Thank you!

Because of the current rumors that it’s not possible anymore to obtain a visa in Aswan I decided to get one in Cairo yesterday.

The embassy opens at 9am, but the guy serving the immigration window (the very left one) showed up at 10:30am. That’s where you get your application form. After filling it out there’s a copy room, where you can get a copy of the form as well as your passport and your Egytian visa. I didn’t fill the “Sponsor” section. The only thing else needed was 2 passport photos.

I gave everything back to the immigration officer. When I went to ask if everything is alright about 1.5 hours later he gave back all my documents and pointed to the cash counter. There I paid 150 USD.

I brought everything back to the counter and by 3pm I had my visa. But carefull: the visitors entrance was locked at 2:30pm. So if you decide to take a walk while waiting come back before.

I also wrote a full report in German.

Dear all,

just a quick update: last Wednesday I went to the Sudanese embassy in Cairo, note the change of address, the embassy used to be located in Garden City, Cairo, but it moved to Dokki, Giza, the new address is: 8 Ahmed Al Shatouri, Dokki, Giza. It is not that far from the Dokki metro station, a walking distance of like 10 minutes.

I applied for the visa in the morning with a German passport, it took them slightly more than one hour to get the approval. Then I received back my passport to pay the visa fees of 150 US$. After submitting the passport and the invoice, I was told to return at 3.00PM to receive my passport with the visa. All went smoothly and the people were nice.

You will need the following:
1- A lot of patience.
2- A copy of your passport’s front page.
3- A copy of the entrance visa to Egypt on your passport.
4- Two Passport photos.
5. An application form, which you receive from the embassy people to fill in and return with all the above.
6- The 150$ visa fee.

I plan my travel to the Sudan on December 8th. for a week and I was wondering if there are other people who will be traveling around this time. I will put another post on that.

Hello,
I’m applying for a Visa from Italy, and apparently I need the “hotel registration to the ministry of tourism”, which as far as I understand is different from the LOI. Does anyone have any insight on what this document is, and eventually a Hotel which can provide it? I have already written to the Acropole Hotel, since I have read in the previous comment that they can provide a LOI. They might be able to provide this other document as well, but if there are cheaper alternatives I wouldn’t mind.
Thanks

Applied for visa today in Cairo. Didnā€™t have hotel booking so put down Acropole Hotel. Approval took 5 minutes and had my Australian passport back in less than 2 hours. Very straight forward.

Hello together,

I can confirm the information for the Visa in Cairo. There was no letter of invitation needed and I made it in one day (10.30-14.30).
For the formular: I let the part where they ask for your sponsor and all the other information free (mostly the whole second part). Was no problem and the did not ask for it later.
I don’t know about the process in Aswan right know but since it is that easy in Cairo I recommend you to go there.

Cheers

Hi,

People been to Sudan recently or still there?
Going there in a few weeks and i like to know if its still easy to get the visa in Cairo?
This because of the demonstrations going on there right now.
How is travalling there at the moment?

Cheers,
Martijn

Hello mate,
First of all thanks a lot for the info, helped me a lot!
Iā€™ve just applied for my Sudanese visa in Cairo a couple of days ago, it only took 3 hours (even though you have to push through as the queue at the embassy gets a bit messy) however, you can only apply for a visa from Sunday to Wednesday (if the immigration officer decides to show up) as theyā€™re closed on fridays and saturdays and DO NOT accept visa applications on Thursdays..
Also, regarding the embassy in Aswan, it seems like theyā€™ve either stopped issuing visa for good or are simply to unstable for some reasons as I’ve met a couple of travellers having to go back all the way up to Cairo from Aswan to get their visa to then, obviously, travel all the way back south, Iā€™ve also asked a worker at the embassy in Cairo about Aswan and the only reply I got from him was ā€œNo, Aswan, Finished!ā€ , so Cairo seems to be the only place to get yor visa in Egypt from now on..
Thanks again.
TristanāœŒ

wow, that is really new for me, thank you for this great update. It is crazy because a couple of months ago, Aswan stopped issuing visas, then started again and now it seems that they definitely stopped! I believe it is time to update all those posts, thank you!

Hi does anyone know if the border is open at the moment. It was closed early April and I cant find anything to say that’s changed. The airport reopened.

Am travelling to Sudan in October with Bejing-based, British-run Young Pioneer Tours.
They tell me I can a visa on arrival at Khartoum airport (for about $US100 after showing a Letter of Invitation from the local tour agent that YPT is lisiasing with).
Is this correct?
Or is the case that a visa must be obtained in advance?
Best wishes šŸ™‚

As I mentioned, Young Pioneer Tours.
May be a tour group agencies some ‘weight’ with the authorities, who relax the rules for members of a group of a certain minimum number?

Hi, I am currently traveling for a month in Egypt before going to Sudan. I want to sort my visa out while I am in Cairo (I heard that Aswan is taking longer as they send the documents to Cairo). Is your visa valid from the date of receipt and does the one month start immediately? Or can you specify the date of entry for Sudan?

Thanks

Hi, Great blog!!! I wish to head to Khartoum within the next two weeks. I see that the Sudanese Embassy in Washington DC demands a letter of invitation. I also see that it may take up to two to three weeks or more to obtain a visa. Do you know if (a) the Sudanese Embassy in Nairobi still fast tracks visas and does not require a letter of invitation? Also, is it possible to obtain a visa to enter Khartoum from Uganda? Mnay thanks!

Hi Samuel, yes, Nairobi is still issuing Sudanese visas pretty quickly.
I don’t understand your second question. Uganda doesn’t share a border with Sudan, or you mean flying from Kampala to Khartoum?

Hi.first of all thansk.ı am a morrocan.nowadyas l am in Spain l want to travell to suddan but infortunitly l must have an invitation lettre please is there any solution.

Hi!

I was at the consulate in Aswan yesterday and now they don’t do same day or next day visa. It’s 7 days waiting.

Price is still 150USD.

I’m an American. I got my visa for Sudan in Addis today. The procedure was fast and easy. Arrive early, like 8am. There’s a tall, well-dressed lady at the desk who will accept your passport, two photos, and letter of invitation. (The Acropole Hotel provided my letter.) I also gave her a copy of my e-ticket in and out of Khartoum, and a copy of my Ethiopian e-visa. (I don’t know if these items were necessary.) At the cashier’s window, I paid $68 in exact change. At 2pm the next day, the nice lady smiled as she returned my passport with a 30-day single-entry visa. Note that the office is not open on Fridays. Note also that your visa validity starts the day you submit your application. So, don’t apply months in advance of your visit to Sudan. Finally, I recommend that you dress well. I wore a sports jacket over a dress shirt and slacks and was given VIP treatment. Two young, unshaven Brits followed me, wearing dirty t-shirts, jeans and sandals. One of the t-shirts had Hebrew writing on it. They were interrogated. One of them was sent away to get a new yellow fever document. The other had his photos ripped in half. They persevered and returned the next day. At that point, they were sent to the end of the queue. I don’t know if they received visas.

Got my visa in Cairo today, was chaotic but everything worked out fine and I could pick it up around 4. They donā€™t accept anything but USD, there is an exchange at the nearest exit of Dokki metro station in case you only have locla currency.

Same-day service at the Sudanese embassy in Cairo with an American passport in January 2020.
The process took about two hours. Enter the embassy through the door on the left, and then go to the window at the back on the left (#1) and wait in line to ask for a tourist visa application – I’m not sure if you can bring this beforehand, the original had a stamp on it. I didn’t have any references or phone numbers in Sudan but that didn’t seem to be a problem, just wrote ‘Acropole Hotel Khartoum.’ Go outside and make a 2-sided copy of the application and anything else you need at a little kiosk 50m toward the main road for 1LE/page. Go back to window 1 with your passport, completed original application and copy, 1 copy of passport photo page, 1 copy Egypt visa page, and 2 passport photos. No invitation letter or embassy letter required. They will staple the documents together and make sure everything is in order. When they hand it back, it’s time to pay! The cashier window is clearly marked and easy to find, just stand in your gender-appropriate line and when it’s your turn, hand over $150 in pristine US dollars. Take the receipt document, passport, and all the papers back to window 1, and then the officer told me to come back at 4pm where I was presented with a shiny new visa! Really no sweat, just be patient. If you need passport photos there’s a FujiFilm storefront 150m north on the big road, 6 photos for 30LE.

Make friends when you stand in line and people will help you with language if you need it, it certainly helped me a lot šŸ˜‰ Great website!

Hi Johan. This is Helena, we met in Dire Dawa. Here is a follow-up about me trying to get a Sudan visa at the embassy in Addis Ababa. Well, letā€™s not celebrate to early about recent developments. As you know, I had to move heaven & earth to arrive here in time to get my visa before the weekend. I even bought a business class ticket from the East though I would have preferred to travel by train. Got there this morning at 8:30 just to find the embassy closed, with a note on the gate that from Februari 5 they would not take in visa applications. At 9 the reception opened and I was bruiskly told to come back on Monday, as there were no visa stickers available. Waisted time I could have spent in the east instead of Addis, waisted good money, not just on my business class flight ticket, but also on accomodation bookings and flight reservation out of Sudan that are required but Iā€™m not able to make at the booked dates thanks to their failings. Concluding: it is still a mess over there. As an applicant you have to have everything arranged perfectly, as an embassy obviously not.

Follow up on Sudan visum in Addis. ā€œCome back Monday.ā€ So I came back today. Still closed. Because of African Union top. Donā€™t they know how many days that takes? Obviously not. As the gatekeeper told me now to come back tomorrow, the security guy corrected and told me the Embassy would only open the day after tomorrow. That means I lost a full week of travelling.

Since I’ve heard conflicting news about visas in Aswan, I wanted to add this update: I’m here in Aswan and they are still issuing visas, though the default waiting period is now 7 days. I didn’t get mine this way, but heard from other people at a hostel who did.

Hey all,

thanks for this great blog!

I can confirm everything that Nathan has written for visa application in Cairo with an Austrian passport. Works easy in one day and they only accept USD (I persuaded them that to accept EUR which worked out but I do not recommend it as you will wait for your change some hours). The price is 150USD and the visa will be ready the same day between 3 and 4PM. Also note that is is valid for 2 months!

Regarding connections from Aswan to Halfa it seems some things changed: the different operators for buses from Aswan to Halfa now almost all start their journey 3AM in the morning. You need to be at the operator (there are different ones just nearby the Aswan train station) around 2:30AM and will be at the border around 7AM when the border opens. This means it should be possible to go to Abri on the same day. Tickets for the bus are still around 250EGP. The bus operators also already offer you changing EGP into Sudanese in Aswan. Please always be wary of the quick depreciation of the Sudanese pound and ask people/travellers in Sudan or friends you might have there. The current black market exchange rate (21 February 2020) is 1USD=105Sudanese pound. For EGP this makes it around 1EGP=6SP. The official market rate is barely at half (1USD=53SP).

In Abri, Megzoub Guest House has installed WiFi. I will write an update once I am there to tell you how it works.

Best, Matthias

Some updates:
1. It is not possible to make it to Abri in one day because the police registration office in Wadi Halfa already closes its doors soon in the afternoon. I made it to Halfa around 3:30PM through jumping in earlier buses at the EG-Sudanese border but still needed to sleep in Halfa in order to do the registration the following morning. Registration costs meanwhile 550SDP (5,50USD). Make sure to still carrry a passport-sized photo with you.
2. Accomodation in Halfa is easy. There are many hotels and you can sleep in shared rooms (4 people) for around 80-120SDP.
3. The microbus from Halfa to Abri leaves when it is full and costs 200SDP.
4. Megzoub Guest House has become very expensive (20USD/night) but as always try to bring down the price through negotiation. He will make it cheaper.
5. The most important info regarding Sim-card: MTN has a shitty connection and no-one in Sudan uses it. Instead make sure to buy a Zayn sim-card which works very well all over Sudan!

I applied for a Sudan visa in Cairo on 16 Feb 2020 and got it on the same day too. I was there at 9.30am and submitted my application and made my payment by 11am. There is a column, written in Arabic, where we’re supposed to write the names of our father and grandfather. Two Japanese guys who came later that day completed their application by 1pm, without writing the names of their father and grandfather, and nothing on the name of sponsor or hotel. All of us got our passports back with visa at the same time at 3pm. The embassy door wasn’t closed yet at 3pm.
Concerning the bus to Wadi Halfa, I can confirm that there is no need to buy any ticket at the bus station a few kilometres north. I went to the bus station to book my ticket, then went there again in order to board my bus which was supposed to leave at 2am.
I was then taken by car to somewhere near the tourist souq / train station (Coordinates: 24.097554,32.900222). Indeed I saw two companies there selling tickets for Wadi Halfa and Khartoum. Me and the other passengers waited until 2.30am before we led to a bus nearby.
The bus finally left 3.30am. We reached Abu Simbel at 7am and I thought I would reach Wadi Halfa in the afternoon. Yet we only arrived at Wadi Halfa at 6pm. So I’m not sure about reaching Abri on the same day part.

Hi Joan, thanks for the posts as I’m planning a trip to Sudan next month (as a solo female traveler).
I’ve been informed that travel and photos permits are no longer required except for Darfur.
A quick question about the transport options. Was it easy to find local buses to go from one point to another? Are taxis a reliable option (car+driver is very expensive there). Thanks!
Noemie

I arrived at the Sudan embassy in Cairo today at 9 a.m. and the visa was paid and processed by 12pm. I had to return at 3 p.m. and pick up the passports. The process was fine, albeit, very busy and no social distancing. Bring US dollars cash. It cost $150 per visa. Kids are full price. May 4, 2021

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the helpful information! Wondering if anyone knows about the entry permit? I was told by the sponsor hotel and my local embassy (Canada) we have to pay an additional $150EUR for the entry permit on top of the Visa $100USD. After reading all the information about how easy it is to get the visa in Cairo, we are considering this option. We are flying from Cairo to Khartoum, everything we have read so far seems to only be land travel. If we obtain visa in Cairo, should it be no problem flying into Khartoum?

Thanks!

Does anybody know if it is possible to obtain a visa for Sudan in Saudi Arabia, Quatar or VAE? I am Dutch and traveling bij car.
Thanks! Pieter

Hello fellow travelers, FYI: I (American) just left the Sudanese Consulate in Aswan with a Visa (Dec 2022). Arrived at 9am with 2 passport photos/2 passport copies/1 Egyptian visa copy/ 150$ USD and had my visa in hand by 2pm the same day. Pretty straight forward, only thing to note; the form required a ā€œsponsorā€. I just made up the ā€œThe Nile Hotelā€ā€¦figured there had to one somewhere in Sudan. No issue.

I guess same than everyone:
– 150USD
– Copy of egyptian visa, if its online also copy of entry stamp
– Passport copy
– 2 photos
– Fill a form

Hi Joan, just got my sudanese visa in Cairo today. 150USD in perfect condition notes. Now they take officially 2 days, but I insisted that I had a flight and picked it up next day 10AM. If you have a copy of the online egyptian visa, also need a copy of the stamp of entry in your passport.

I just did the Sudan visa in Cairo and wanted to give an update.

Documents needed
Copy of passport, copy of Egyptian visa, hotel booking, I just showed that on my phone, application but you will get that from them they did not accept the one I printed from internet so they gave me a fresh one.

Steps taken. Go inside and there are 2 sets of windows one. First ones behind cages are the pay windows. The 2nd ones are behind glass and you go to farthest one. That is the one for foreigners. They speak fairly good English there. They will take all your documents and ask you to wait. Than after 20 minutes they will will call your name and hold up your passport. Take the application and go to pay window and pay with 150 usd. The 100 bill should be new model as they rejected an older version from an American who was there. Once you pay they give you a receipt form and you go back to the far window clerk and give them passport and the receipt. They will either say come back at 3pm or tomorrow morning. I was late getting my stuff finished so didn’t reach this stage until 1pm so I got my visa back the next day at 9am. I just went in and asked them for my passport and visa and they gave it to me.

A fairly painless procedure and the staff was overworked but very helpful to me.

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