Visas Schmeesas

One of the more tedious things that goes along with living and traveling in this part of the world is obtaining the necessary visas.

My South Sudanese friends find it hard to believe that not only do I have to get government approval to enter their country and to live here, but I actually have to pay to do so. (This subject usually comes up when they ask me about coming to Canada with me on a visit and I have to explain about things like passports, visas, etc.)

And aside from South Sudan, a visa is also necessary to enter Kenya, which I do several times a year.

One other thing that is a little annoying is that both South Sudan and Kenya visas are huge stickers that take up a whole passport page. During the past two years I've accumulated 22 of them--almost half the visa pages in my passport.

The rules for South Sudan visas have changed a few times since independence two years ago, and it has been challenging and sometimes downright confusing to figure out what was required of us.

The current situation is that we have to get a visa before entering the country (maximum one month or three months in duration), and that we can get visas renewed at the immigration office in our state capital, Aweil. We've become regulars at this office.


 My team recently worked for several months to get officially registered by the South Sudan government as a religious organization. Being registered has enabled us to be approved for year-long, multiple-entry visas. The year-long visa is great because it saves money, time and energy, but the downside is that we have to get these in person in Juba, we can't get them in Aweil. Fortunately I was in Juba in July and am now the proud possessor of this lovely sticker:

Plus, not only did I get this visa for South Sudan in July, I got a year-long, multiple-journey visa for Kenya, too! No more filling out a page-long form and standing in the visa line each time I arrive at Jomo Kenyatta. And several passport pages spared--maybe now I won't run out before my passport expires!