New visa fees come into force

The Directorate of Immigration and Emigration announced new visa fees for visitors coming to Rwanda as it seeks to align fees with the global currency rate. The new visa fees came into force effective July 31 and will remain applicable for the next 12 months, according to a statement issued by the directorate. Making reference to annual average cross rate as provided by the central bank, the revision has seen a downward change on other currencies, save for the dollars. The new transit and entry visa is now $30, while travelers with Euros will be paying €27 and those with pounds need to pay £20. Tourist and family visa costs $50, while those with Euros and Pounds will pay €45 and £35, respectively. Although travelers with diplomatic passports, as usual, are visa fee exempted, for travelers seeking conference visa the fee has remained 30 for those paying in dollars, while those paying in Euros will pay 27, and 20 for pound holders. In an interview, the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration spokesperson, Yves Butera, explained that the changes in visa fees are regular and normally informed by the central bank’s currency rate. “The revision of standard visa fee is conducted every year, except for the dollar which never changes because the fee is provided by the law, other currencies like Euros and Great Britain Pounds normally change according to annual average cross rates provided by the central bank,” he said Friday. Reduction for pound payers The struggling Great Britain Pound, which seems to have been the only one affected by the latest changes, will see travelers paying lesser than what they used to pay. For example, while a visitor seeking a transit and or an entry visa was previously paying 23 pounds, effective yesterday the person is required to pay 20 pounds. For family visa seekers, while the fee in pounds previously was at £40 the new changes have seen a reduction down to £35, the same reduction will also see EAC Tourist Visa holders and tourist group visa for four up to 10 people paying £70 while previously they were paying £77. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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New visa fees come into force