Expert: Ernest Tufft - 9/17/2008

Question
Hello Ernest.  One of your previous answers talked about visas for Ghana to Senegal.  I'd like to do Togo to Senegal, so I'm sure the same information applies.  The problem is, I'm currently living in Cameroon and therefore know how unreliable public transport can be.  Therefore, I don't want to buy a ticket out of Senegal until I arrive in Dakar.  Since you said visas are usually given based on proof of departure, do you think this will be a problem?  Also, someone once mentioned that West Africa has a visa deal (one visa, many countries) similar to the rail passes in Europe (one ticket, many countries).  Have you heard anything about this?  My Internet connection is slow so I haven't been able to do a lot of searching.

Answer
Matt,

Thanks for the question.  I don't fully understand your plan, and actually I'm not an expert on visa requirements for Africa, but I understand that the "visa deal" you mention only applies to citizens of the West African nations.  During my border crossings, I have seen requirements relaxed for transport of youth without passports, for example.  Normally, the ID is sufficient for business and family visit travel between adjacent nations within a region, a practice similiar to what the USA has with Canada and Mexico.  It's possible that the French West African nations have a "special deal" as you suggest, but I wouldn't count upon the sort of sophisticated EU sort of arrangement as these nations are politically further apart.  A visa is certainly not the same as a rail pass, as government is not the same as business.  Having said all this, since you are already on the continent, your best bet is to visit in person the respective consulate offices at the capital in Cameroon.  It's possible that you may work out a deal there.  Be careful about avoiding bribery though.  Good luck...l