Sub Saharan Africa

We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling.  The cost of medical repatriation from DRC to the UK is extremely high.  You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake. See Travel Insurance for more details.

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

The lack of reliable air transport and continued insecurity may prevent the British Embassy in Kinshasa from being able to extend normal levels of consular assistance to British nationals anywhere in DRC other than Kinshasa.

If you do decide to visit or work in DRC you are advised to have your own evacuation plan, to regularly review its viability in the light of changing circumstances, and to provide details of it to the British Embassy at ambrit@fco.gov.uk.

We strongly recommend that if you are visiting or are resident in the DRC, you should register with the British Embassy in Kinshasa. You can do so in person or, if you prefer, via our secure online registration service at:  Consular Online Registration on the FCO website or with our LOCATE service. Notwithstanding our inability to guarantee consular assistance and advice against travel in the east, we would strongly recommend you to register and give us your contact details if you intend to visit DRC, so that we can pass on information that may be of use to you concerning the security situation in your area.  You should also consider having a visa for the Republic of Congo if you are planning to stay in Kinshasa for a considerable period of time.  More information about registering with LOCATE can be found here.

The British Embassy in Kinshasa offers only a Temporary Passport service. These are valid for up to one year only. The Embassy provides a full replacement passport service via the British High Commission in Nairobi. This can take up to six weeks, unless you are prepared to meet courier costs.

DRC has a GSM network on which most dual-band (or better) UK mobile phones will work. Coverage is not complete. If in doubt, contact your UK service provider. Local ‘pay as you go’ SIM cards are available.

The British Embassy cannot provide emergency cash advances to UK nationals.  You are advised to have arrangements in place before leaving the UK to have funds sent to you in case of need.  Some brands of credit cards are accepted in DRC.  If you have a card which can be used in the country, you should consider bringing it with you.  The currency in DRC is the Congolese Franc but US Dollars can be used.  US Dollars should be presented in good condition.