Algeria Entry Visa

Hi,

I’m heading to the Algerian Sahara. I’m taking a flight from Paris to Djanet with a layover in Algiers.

Can anyone tell me how the entry visa process works?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi there,

If you're traveling with an approved agency, your visa will be issued on arrival, but I have a slight doubt since you have a layover in Algiers. (There are direct flights between Paris and Djanet.) If you're traveling on your own or your agency isn't approved, you’ll need to get your visa at a consulate.

Have a great trip!

Hi, You can't go to Djanet without first contacting a local agency or guide who will handle the necessary permits for visiting the desert.

For the visa on arrival, your organizer will take care of the procedures—they’ll send you an embarkation authorization provided by the ministry. When you arrive at Algiers airport, they’ll issue your visa.

Thanks for your reply.

Just to confirm again: in the entire region—Hoggar, Tassili, Djanet, etc.—NO solo wandering or independent travel is allowed. Getting a visa is no problem if you're on a tour organized by a travel agency, where every member will be under the constant watch of a so-called "GUIDE" (cop). If you're traveling solo, no problem either—as long as you have the same (paid, of course!) escort.

I was able to verify this last year when I wanted to travel alone to that area, like all my trips accessible as a backpacker with my little VW T3 camper, - first, bivouacking is strictly forbidden, and I would’ve felt uncomfortable sleeping there with a "guide or cop" in my vehicle anyway, - I would’ve had to provide, in my visa application at the Bordeaux consulate, FOR EACH DAY, the departure location, the name, and the fully paid hotel reservation for my arrival—conditions clearly designed to discourage this kind of "tourist" travel. The cost of the on-duty cop’s service and the hotels had to be paid in advance, all at once. In the end, I managed to get my visa thanks to my Algerian neighbor and friend who provided me with an accommodation certificate, but I could only get it for 1 month instead of the three I requested and was eligible for. Why? The consulate clerk’s response when I picked it up: "BECAUSE." And when I landed in Ghazaouet, instead of heading straight to his place in Upper Kabylie, I realized that cops and gendarmes weren’t stopping me or asking for anything. So I was able to wander around all of northern Algeria, from the Moroccan border to the Tunisian one, for a month. I only slept in a hotel three or four times—the rest of the time, I bivouacked at gas station rest areas or even in village squares. I was only checked three or four times in a month, and after verifying my ID, vehicle documents, and accommodation certificate, everything went smoothly. They only asked me where I was going once. Always, in addition to my age, dressed normally and neatly, with a haircut, etc.… That must’ve helped a bit!!!

Make sure to clearly state that you're 84 years old and that at your age, it’s not safe to bivouac alone in the Hoggar without phone service. At your age, you should be grateful to have guides with you—otherwise, you’d risk getting lost…

You're absolutely right. And I really would have loved for this magnificent region to be safe enough to visit. So reason must come first. Maybe the fact that I was born in the middle of the "bush" in Cameroon in '40 and lived there until I was 20 developed a chronic, max-level sense of freedom in me!! While I can only agree with your analysis of the south, I think that in the entire northern third of the country, the situation is fortunately much safer and problem-free—no more insecure than in Morocco, for example. If the "diplomatic situation and my health" allow it, I’ll try to get a visa at the end of the year to make a trip this time from Béchar down to Timimoun, then head east and come back up via Ghardaïa and Ouargla to reach the Biskra-Batna region, which I already explored in December 2013. Véra béné 😉

And one detail anyway! While I don’t mind having a real guide—it’s often very informative—I really don’t like the idea of being shadowed by a "secret agent".................

Thanks for the info!

Thanks Alain for this very detailed response.

I think Algeria is a really beautiful country—I love visiting it, and I want to go back to explore the North. Algeria isn’t just a country; it’s a whole continent! 😊