Ethiopia business visa application, requirements, price, and processing time

An Ethiopia business visa is required for foreign business persons who wish to visit Ethiopia for business. The Ethiopian government has different types of visas for various purposes, but the Ethiopia visa is a special purpose travel document for business visitors.

This post contains vital information about the different types of business visas and how to apply for them. Keep reading this post to learn more.

Types of Ethiopia Business Visa

Business visas are designed for the same purpose but have different sub-categories, as explained below.

Conference Visa: A Conference Visa is issued to eligible citizens of foreign nations who wish to attend a country's seminar, conference, or workshop. The organizer may be a private organization, educational institution, or government ministry. Conference visas make it possible to visitors to enter Ethiopia at short notice to participate in events they are invited for.

Foreign Business Firm Employment WV Visa: The foreign employment visa is issued to employees or expatriate workers of international businesses operating in Ethiopia. This document allows holders to enter and work in Ethiopia for their new employers.

Government Employment Visa:  This one is similar to the previous employment visa explained above, but the only difference is that it is issued to foreigners contracted to work in any government ministry or institution.

Private Business Firm Work PE Visa: This visa is for foreigners working for Ethiopian-owned businesses on a short-term contract. The validity of the visa depends on multiple factors.

International Embassies/Organizations Work Visa: The international embassy or organization work visa is issued to foreign nationals invited to work in Ethiopia on a project for an international organization of the Ethiopian embassy.

Government Institutions Visa For Short Task: The Government Institutions short task visa is for foreigners contracted by an Ethiopian government Institution to work in the country for a short time.

Non-Government Organization Visa: The NGO visa is for foreigners entering the country to work for a registered and active NGO on a permanent or short-term project. This one is the opposite of the visa issued to visitors hired by government institutions.

Investment Visa: Those who wish to invest in Ethiopia can apply for an Investment visa. This visa is also for those who have active investments in the country.

Journalist Visa: This visa is strictly for foreign journalists working as freelancers or a media organization. It also covers filmmakers, media professionals, and those engaged in general media-related work in the country.

These are the types of business visas issued by the government of Ethiopia to foreign nationals. Note that each is issued for a specific purpose and has a different expiry date. Before you apply for a business visa, be sure of why you want to visit the country and only apply for a suitable one so your application will not be denied.

For business-related activities aside from the ones listed above, endeavor to visit the Ethiopian embassy in your home country to get recommendations on the right kind of visa to apply for.

Ethiopia Business Visa Requirements

To successfully apply for an Ethiopia e visa, you must submit the following for your visa application.

Passport

Your ordinary passport must be submitted so officials can process your application. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months from arriving in Ethiopia and must contain at least 2 blank pages for visa stamps at the airport. Ensure that you scan the bio page of the passport to display your personal information.

Picture

A passport-sized 35x45mm picture was taken on a white background. The picture must be recently uploaded in JPEG, PNG, or JPG format with a maximum of 2MB.

Extra documents

The applicant must submit certain extra documents depending on the business visa they are applying for. Some common documents requested include the following.

• An application letter issued by the inviting organization or company addressed to the right government agency inviting the applicant to Ethiopia

• The inviting company's business license

• The inviting company TIN Number

• Contract document between the applicant and the inviting company

• An issued note from the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs granting the applicant clearance to visit Ethiopia for international or governmental organizations

• A support letter from the foreign affairs ministry or Office of Communication of the government for visiting journalists

Note that these documents should be uploaded in JPEG, PNG, JPG, BMP, PDF, or GIF formats, and their size must not exceed 2MB per file. Passports should be scanned and uploaded too.

If you want to apply for an Ethiopia business visa, kindly visit the embassy in your country. For short stay single entry visa, kindly visit VisaHQ to complete the application form.