Middle East and North Africa

Insurance

We recommend that comprehensive travel and medical insurance (including medical evacuation) is obtained before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. For more general information see our travel insurance page.

If things do go wrong when you are overseas then this is our how we can help page.

 

Replacing a passport in Algeria

The British Embassy in Algiers does not issue passports. Before setting off, you should ensure that your passport has sufficient validity and plenty of unused pages. Applications for new passports are accepted in Algiers for forwarding to the UK for processing, but this may take up to six weeks. If a courier is used, the cost will have to be borne by the applicant.

Registration

If you are resident in Algeria you should make your whereabouts known to the British Embassy in Algeria, or by registering online with our LOCATE service. This tells us where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency.
 

Money

The use ATM machines and credit cards in is still confined to hotels and a limited number of other businesses in the larger cities. Algerian Dinars should be obtained from bureaux de change at the international airports and larger hotels or from banks in the main cities. You should not attempt to change money on the streets. Algeria has strict foreign exchange laws and the Dinar cannot be exported.