Since several friends asked about how I got my Ethiopia Visa, I decided to write this blog post. I'll have a page for Visa for Indonesian Citizens, which I'll (hopefully) update from time to time.
I applied for my Ethiopia Visa from Nairobi, Kenya. The process itself was pretty straight forward, but there was a bit of drama. You guys love drama, right? Well I do too! A little bit drama in your life is good otherwise it will be too flat. 😉 Here is the step by step of getting an Ethiopia Visa for Indonesian Citizen.
I remember I arrived in Nairobi Friday night and I planned to get my Ethiopia Visa done on Monday (since I planned to apply for my Sudan and Egypt visas in Nairobi). So Monday came and I was prepared. I printed all the documents needed (which was based on other visa applications that I have done).
Here are the documents that I brought with me:
- Cover letter
- Copy of my passport
- Itinerary
- 2 passport photos
- Proof of my financial status (copy of my credit card cover letter, savings, etc)
- Copy of my yellow fever vaccination
- My hotel bookings for the first 4 days. I didn't attach plane ticket because I was planning to go overland (no fly out ticket as well).
I went to the Ethiopian Consulate in Nairobi, here is the address just in case you need it: State House CRE road, Nairobi (search Ethiopian Embassy on Google Maps). I went for the security check, deposited my bag. When I met the consulate staff I was told that I needed to get a recommendation letter from Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi.
I was like: " why? "
Apparently, since I am not a Kenyan resident, I need to get the letter first from my embassy and submit the letter to the Ethiopian Embassy (not the Consulate). This is also valid for other nationalities that are not Kenyan residents. I did ask, what is the letter? The guy assured that it is a pretty common letter and the Indonesian Embassy definitely knows the letter that I need.
That day was 24th April 2017 and it was the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad. I thought that the Indonesian Embassy would be closed, but I gave it a try anyway. Maybe it's open because it is not in Indonesia, but in Kenya...
Long story short, the Indonesian Embassy was closed. We met the security guard and he said come back tomorrow at 8 AM. The journey to the Indonesian Embassy was quite something 😀
So the next day I went really early and arrive there around 8:15 AM. I needed to wait until 9 AM and finally met a guy (one of the secretaries). I knew this would happen, but I was trying to be positive thinking yesterday. The guy basically told me that he didn't know what kind of letter that being requested by the Ethiopian Consulate. On top of that he said that the guy who supposed to take care this kind of stuff was on a business trip and would be back on Friday.
This meant that I would need to be in Nairobi for a week without being able to process my visa. He advised me to go back to Ethiopian Consulate to ask about the letter. He gave me his mobile number and asked me to update him at the soonest (via phone was ok). He was really friendly and helpful.
Being a bit tired of bureaucracy, my travel partner suggested we check the Sudanese consulate to see if they required a similar letter. Who knows, maybe we could ask them about what this letter should look like.
So we went to the Sudan consulate to ask about visa requirements. Here we found out we couldn't apply for a visa from Nairobi. This was because our next destination after Kenya was Ethiopia (not Sudan). We needed to apply for our Sudan visa from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).
I was getting more desperate hearing the news, but the guy was very friendly and he allowed us to take a photo of one of the recommendation letters. And yes, to apply Sudan Visa from Kenya, you need to attach the recommendation letter from your embassy too. The letter basically states your full name, passport number, date of birth, and states that you are an Indonesian citizen. If you need the example, comment here and I'll email mine.
On the Tuesday afternoon, I sent the sample of the letter to the guy from the Indonesian Embassy. He texted me on Wednesday afternoon and told me that the letter was ready to be picked up at the Indonesian Embassy.
I picked up the letter on Thursday morning and went directly to the Ethiopian Embassy. At the Ethiopian Embassy (which was located really close to the Ethiopian Consulate), I gave the letter and my passport to the security. She asked me to go to the Consulate and wait there.
Besides the documents (cover letter, copy of my passport, itinerary, 2 passport photos, proof of my finances (credit card cover letter, savings, etc), copy of my yellow fever vaccination, and my hotel bookings for the first 4 days), I needed to fill the visa application form. Then I had to wait until the Head of Consulate available.
The Head of the Consulate section was an interesting lady. She had traditional tattoos that formed like a necklace around her throat and a cross on her forehead. She interviewed me and asked some basic questions like, " what was I planning to do in Ethiopia?", " are you travelling alone? ", etc.
She also asked for the name of the supervisor/manager name of the hotel where I had booked. So I needed to make a phone call to the hotel to ask about it (it was pretty easy too). So here's the renewed list of what you need:
- Cover letter
- Copy of my passport
- Itinerary
- 1 passport photo
- Proof of my financial status (credit card cover letter, savings, etc)
- Copy of my yellow fever vaccination
- My hotel bookings for the first 4 days. I didn't attach plane ticket because I was planning to go overland (no fly out ticket as well).
- Supporting letter from Embassy (if you are abroad).
- Name of the manager/supervisor at the first hotel you will be staying at.
After the interview, she gave me a single entry visa valid for 30 days. I needed to pay the visa fee at one of the banks (they provide a piece of paper written the bank name and the bank account details). I paid the USD 40 then picked up my passport at the Consulate.
I would say the Ethiopian Visa process for Indonesian citizens from Nairobi, Kenya was a bit tricky, but... If you know what you need to do it is pretty simple. You can do it in one day 🙂
I am currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and I think this country is amazing. If you have any questions about Ethiopian visa application process for Indonesia citizen or about travelling in Ethiopia, let me know in the comments below. I'll try my best to help. 😉
For Indonesian citizens who want to apply for Ethiopian Visa from Indonesia, you can go to Ethiopian Consulate in Jakarta. Articles about Ethiopia travels are coming soon!