Legal Update - October 2023

With the aim of simplifying the procedures for granting tourist visas and, consequently, attracting more private investment, on September 29, 2023, Decree No. 189/2023 was published, which exempts citizens of certain countries from presenting an entry visa for tourism.

The decree, which is already in effect, repeals Presidential Decree No. 56/18 of February 2nd and Decree No. 150/18 of June 19th.

The regime outlined in the decree under consideration applies exclusively to the granting of tourist visas.

Nationals of beneficiary countries who intend to enter the national territory to obtain a work visa, temporary residence visa, study visa, medical treatment visa, or residence permit must obtain the corresponding visa at a Diplomatic Mission or Consular Post in their country of origin or habitual residence. Therefore, the aforementioned decree applies only to those seeking a tourist visa.

It should be noted that the exemption from tourist visas does not waive the compliance with applicable formalities at border posts, as well as the presentation of the following documents:

Passport valid for more than six months.
Round-trip ticket.
International vaccination certificate (when necessary).

Another noteworthy aspect is that, in addition to the diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Angola, the application for a tourist visa can be made on the official website of the Immigration and Foreigners Service, using a specific form, which should be decided within a maximum of three (3) business days.

The Ministry responsible for the Foreign Affairs sector must communicate to the beneficiary countries listed in this decree about the exemption from tourist visas and the simplified visa acquisition process.

The list of beneficiary countries covers a wide range of nations in various regions of the world.

From Africa, 14 countries are included in this list, such as the Kingdom of Eswatini, Morocco, Lesotho, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Seychelles, Cape Verde, Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Algeria, and Tanzania.

There are 11 countries from Asia, namely the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and China.

Europe leads with a total of 35 countries, including Switzerland, the Vatican City, the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, the Principality of Monaco, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Norway, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Cyprus, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Iceland.

It also includes eight countries from the Americas, such as the United States of America, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Panama, Brazil, and Uruguay.

From Oceania, there are 14 countries, including Australia, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Independent State of Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Niue.

Finally, 16 countries from the Caribbean and the Pacific are covered by the exemption from tourist visas, such as Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Haiti, the Cook Islands, Jamaica, the Republic of Kiribati, the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Suriname, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.