Luanda - Citizens of 98 countries, including Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, the United States of America, Russia and China, are now exempt from tourist visas for annual stays in Angola of less than 90 days a year.
According to a presidential decree published in the State Gazeta in October, citizens from these countries are now exempt from tourist visas for a period of up to 30 days per entry and 90 days per year.
They will have to fulfill the "formalities applicable at border crossings", which are not detailed in the decree, present a passport valid for longer than the period of stay and an international vaccination certificate whenever justified.
The European list includes 35 countries, including all those in the European Union, Russia, Norway and Turkey. The United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are among the exempt American countries.
The 14 African countries exempt from tourist visas include Cape Verde, Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Botswana and Rwanda, while the 11 Asian countries on the list include China and Japan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, South Korea and East Timor.
The decree also applies to 14 countries in Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand, and 16 small states and islands in the Caribbean and Pacific region.
The presidential decree also includes simplification procedures for granting tourist visas to citizens from countries that are not on the list, directing diplomatic and consular missions to adopt a "simplified service" that guarantees the granting of tourist visas in less than three working days.
So far, a total of 18,719 foreign citizens of various nationalities have been exempt from tourist visas in the period from September 27 to November 26 this year.VIC/DAN/AMP
