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Passport validity requirements

Your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive in DRC.

Check with your travel provider that your passport and other travel documents meet requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.

You will be denied entry if you do not have a valid travel document or try to use a passport that has been reported lost or stolen.

Dual nationals

When returning to the UK, British citizens must carry a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement. See Dual citizenship.

Visa requirements

You must have a visa to visit DRC.

Applying for a visa

Apply for a visa through the DRC Embassy in the UK.

Allow at least 2 to 3 weeks for application processing.

Some types of visa applications are referred to Kinshasa for a decision. In these cases, if you submit a letter of invitation from the person or organisation you’re visiting, stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kinshasa, you may speed up the process.

Consider getting a long-term visa if you are planning to stay in DRC for a considerable period. When you apply for or renew a long-term visa, DRC authorities need a ‘consular certificate’ as part of the application. The British Embassy in DRC can issue a consular certificate for you.  

Checks at border control

If you have a Rwandan or Ugandan immigration stamp in your passport you may have some difficulties on arrival, but it should not prevent you from entering DRC.

If you’re crossing regularly between Rwanda and DRC you may have immigration difficulties if you have not regularised your residency status.

Ebola

You may encounter health screening measures, such as being required to fill in a passenger locator form on arrival and departure and temperature checks, including at airports.

Some countries have heightened health screening for travellers from DRC. Check entry requirements for the country you’re travelling to or transiting.  

Rwanda and Uganda have announced restrictions which impact travellers to DRC.

The UK’s Returning Workers Scheme has been activated, due to the outbreak of Ebola disease. Returning health and humanitarian workers should check the latest at UK’s Returning Workers Scheme before returning to the UK.

Departure tax

You need to pay a departure tax of 55 US dollars on international flights and 10 US dollars on domestic flights. You pay these fees when you check in for your departure. Get an official receipt and a copy for each fee. Hand the originals on request to immigration and at boarding and keep the copies.

Vaccine requirements

To enter DRC, you must have certificates to prove you’ve had:  

• a yellow fever vaccination
• a polio vaccine, in some circumstances

For full details about medical entry requirements and recommended vaccinations, see TravelHealthPro’s DRC guide.

You may need a yellow fever certificate for onward travel to some other countries, due to the risk of yellow fever in DRC.

Customs rules

There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of DRC. You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.

You may have difficulties when entering DRC if you are travelling with:

• satellite phones
• GPS receivers
• military clothing

Customs rules

There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of DRC. You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.

You may have difficulties when entering DRC if you are travelling with:

• satellite phones
• GPS receivers
• military clothing

Emergency services in DRC  

There is no general emergency medical number in Kinshasa or elsewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Some major cities have emergency services, but their level of assistance is limited.

If you have a medical emergency which requires an ambulance, contact a hospital to make this request. If you are in Kinshasa, you can contact the fire service on 118, and the police on 112.

Contact your travel provider and insurer

Contact your travel provider and your insurer if you are involved in a serious incident or emergency abroad. They will tell you if they can help and what you need to do.

Refunds and changes to travel

For refunds or changes to travel, contact your travel provider. You may also be able to make a claim through insurance. However, insurers usually require you to talk to your travel provider first.

Find out more about changing or cancelling travel plans, including:

• where to get advice if you are in a dispute with a provider
• how to access previous versions of travel advice to support a claim

Support from FCDO

FCDO has guidance on staying safe and what to do if you need help or support abroad, including:

• finding English-speaking lawyers, funeral directors and translators and interpreters
• dealing with a death in DRC
• being arrested or imprisoned in DRC
• getting help if you’re a victim of crime
• what to do if you’re in hospital
• if you’re affected by a crisis, such as a terrorist attack

Contacting FCDO 

Help abroad  

See how to get help from the UK government abroad including in an emergency. 

Help in the UK  

You can call FCDO in London if you need urgent help because something has happened to a friend or relative abroad.  

Telephone: 020 7008 5000 (24 hours)  

Find out about call charges

Get travel advice updates  

Sign up to get email notifications when this travel advice is updated.  

Follow FCDO: 

• travel advice on X

• travel advice on Facebook

Areas where FCDO advises against travel

Areas in Kinshasa Province

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to:

• The districts of N’djili and Kimbanseke in Kinshasa city south of the main access road to N’djili airport, in Nsele commune
• The N1 road in Kinshasa Province, between and including Menkao to the west, Kenge to the east, the border of Mai-Ndombe province to the north, and 10km to the south

DRC-Central African Republic border

FCDO advises against all travel to within 50km of the border with the Central African Republic.

Eastern DRC  

FCDO advises against all travel to the provinces of:

• Haut-Uélé and Ituri, including the entire DRC-South Sudan border
• North Kivu
• South Kivu
• Maniema
• Tanganyika
• Haut-Lomami

South-East DRC

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Upemba National Park. If you choose to travel to Upemba National Park against FCDO advise, notify the park authorities about your travel plans.

Territory in Mai-Ndombe Province

FCDO advises against all travel to the Kwamouth territory of Mai-Ndombe Province. This is between, and including, the towns of Kwamouth, Bandundu and the southern border of Mai-Ndombe province.

Kisangani airport

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Bangoka International Airport, Kisangani due to multiple drone attacks in the area of Kisangani airport.

See details about why FCDO advises against travel.    

Security situation in DRC

North and South Kivu

If you are in North or South Kivu and judge it safe to do so, and if routes are available, you should leave.

M23 rebels and Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) have captured the cities of Goma and Bukavu and the surrounding areas in North and South Kivu. M23 rebels and RDF captured the city of Uvira in December 2025, and then withdrew from the city in January 2026, though clashes continue in the surrounding areas. The situation remains highly unstable and unpredictable. Routes to depart Uvira, Goma and Bukavu are limited and may change at short notice.

The border crossings between Rwanda and the DRC at Gisenyi-Goma and Ruzizi-Bukavu could close at short notice. 

Goma and Bukavu airports have been attacked and commercial flights are no longer operating from the airports. 

Support from the UK government is severely limited outside Kinshasa. You should not assume that FCDO will be able to provide assistance to leave the country in the event of serious unrest or crisis.

Tshopo Province

On 23 May, there were multiple drone attacks in the area of Kisangani airport. These incidents have led to disruption to flights. The security situation remains unpredictable, and further disruption is possible.

Help and support in DRC

Read FCDO advice on how to deal with a crisis overseas.

Contact your travel provider and insurer

Contact your travel provider and your insurer. They will tell you if they can help and what you need to do.

Getting help in DRC

For help in an emergency from the British government, telephone: +243815566200

Read ‘Getting help’ for more information on other ways to get help in DRC.

Contact FCDO in London

Telephone: 020 7008 5000 (24 hours)

Before you travel

No travel can be guaranteed safe. Read all the advice in this guide. You may also find it helpful to: 

• see general advice for women travellers
• read our guide on disability and travel abroad
• see general advice for LGBT+ travellers
• read about safety for solo and independent travel
• see advice on volunteering and adventure travel abroad

Travel insurance

If you choose to travel, research your destinations and get appropriate travel insurance. Insurance should cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency.

About FCDO travel advice

FCDO provides advice about risks of travel to help you make informed decisions. Find out more about FCDO travel advice.

Get travel advice updates

Sign up to get email notifications when this travel advice is updated. 

Follow FCDO:   

• travel advice on X

• travel advice on Facebook

• Travel Aware on Instagram

Laws and cultural differences

 Justice process

The DRC authorities rarely meet their international obligations to notify embassies when foreign nationals have been detained. Even if requested, adequate consular access is not always granted. Keep in close touch with family or friends and ask them to notify the British Embassy in Kinshasa immediately if you are arrested in DRC.

Using cameras in secure areas

Taking photographs of some government and military buildings is illegal, particularly borders or military installations. You risk being arrested and detained. Journalists should not conduct interviews or film without the necessary local permits.

LGBT+ travellers

Same-sex sexual activity is not illegal in DRC but is frowned upon by many. There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples or same-sex marriage, and there are no specific anti-discrimination laws protecting LBGT+ people. Members of the LGBT+ community are known to be harassed. Individuals may be charged under DRC’s Penal Code for ‘crimes against family life’.   

Read more advice for LGBT+ travellers.

Adopting children from DRC

FCDO advises against adopting from DRC. The UK does not recognise adoptions made in DRC as DRC is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

The DRC government has not issued exit permits for children adopted by foreign nationals in DRC since 2013 and many are still unable to leave the country. It is illegal for same-sex or trans-sexual couples to adopt Congolese children.

Camouflage clothing

If you wear any military-style clothing you could be misidentified as military personnel and be vulnerable to attack or detention.

Money

Credit cards are only accepted in a limited number of places in Kinshasa and other cities. US dollars are widely used alongside the local currency and a number of ATMs dispense US dollars in Kinshasa. Notes should be in good condition and issued after 2001. Elsewhere in DRC, cash is needed for transactions.

Make sure you have access to money, or have arrangements in place for it to be sent to you in an emergency, before leaving the UK.