Cape Verde

Visas

All visitors, except Cape Verdean nationals, require a visa. In the USA, mail your passport, one photo and US$40 to the Cape Verdean embassy in Washington, DC. Visas are issued routinely for stays of up to five years. Within West Africa, Dakar, in Senegal, is one of the few places where you can get a visa. If there’s no Cape Verdean embassy, inquire at the nearest Portuguese embassy.

That said, a tourist visa can be obtained on arrival at the airports and ports of Praia and Sal, and will cost CVE4000. Your allowed stay may be short, however, so after arriving, you may need to go to a police station on any island, or the Direcção de Emigrãçao e Fronteiras (Rua Serpa Pinto, Platô, Praia, Santiago), and renew it (a maximum of 180 days). In practice, visas are usually issued on the spot (particularly if you’re polite and smiling!). Note that there’s a fine of CVE15, 000 if you let your visa expire.

Visa extensions

For an extension of more than a week, you need, in theory, to fill in a form, supply a photo and lodge the application at the Direcção de Emigrãçao e Fronteiras (Rua Serpa Pinto, Platô, Praia, Santiago), which will take a few days.

Visas for onward travel

Visas for Senegal can be obtained at that country’s embassy in Praia. They cost around CVE500 and take up to 48 hours to process. If you need a visa upon arrival in West African countries, you may need to head to Dakar, in Senegal, first.