Our travels to the horn of Africa included a visit to Djibouti as well as Somalia. Somaliland Visa was required to continue our journey there. Based on the current situation in Somalia, the most obvious region to visit was Somaliland, a breakaway region that claims its independence for 27 years now. Although the UN does not recognise Somaliland as a country, you do need a visa for it, and trust us you cannot get it at the border.
Getting Somaliland visa in Addis Ababa
The visa process is fairly straightforward in Addis Ababa and you can obtain a Somaliland Visa on the same day. The embassy entrance door is unmarked, however, the embassy is marked with a Somaliland sign with flags, you can’t miss it. Knock on the gate and a guard will answer it.
Tell them you’d like to apply for a visa, and they’ll direct you towards a room with a few ladies that will assist you. You must complete the visa application that they supply to you, along with the below documents.
Somaliland Visa
What you need to apply for Somaliland Visa:
- Completed application form supplied by the embassy
- 2 Passport Photos
- Original Passport to get your visa stamped
- Photocopy of your passport page
- 100 USD per visa. Cash only, no other currency accepted.
Details of the Embassy:
Opening Hours: You can apply for Somaliland visa from 8 am to 12 pm. Pick up is after 1 pm. Or 3 hours later.
Location: Address: Millennium Road, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The location of the embassy is correct on Google maps, next to the embassy of Malawi, just look for the flag of Somaliland.
Other tips for your Somaliland Visa:
If you need to print or copy any documents we recommend using these two hotels not far from the embassy.
- Desalegn Hotel on Cape Verde St
- Azzeman Hotel is located on Namibia St (not far from Tomoca coffee, where we enjoyed coffee many times).
Have your documents on a USB stick as you can easily print them out as well as on email if they prefer to print it for you from their email.
DANESH Bank accepts all international cards and you can withdraw your daily limit (300 USD). When selecting the account, choose ‘Credit Card’ instead of ‘Savings/ Current’, it will then work for you.
Please Note: There is a working DANESH ATM machine and bank located just next to Tomoca coffee on Namibia St. We frequently withdrew cash from this reliable machine during our stay in Addis Ababa.
In preparation for your stay in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland – we recommend pre-booking a hotel for your travel dates. There are not many tourist hotels here, so it’s a good idea to have confirmation before your arrival. Affordable hotels and prices can be found here.
Join a Food Tour in Addis Ababa
If you’ve got some spare time in Addis Ababa, we highly recommend doing a food tour of this delicious city. Find out more in our blog post – The Best Food in Addis Ababa – A Delicious Food Walk
Planning on visiting nearby Djibouti too? Read more about Getting a Visa for Djibouti in Addis Ababa.
Need some information about applying for other visas in Africa? Check out our Visa Guide.
Practical Information about Travelling in Africa
We’ve got some comprehensive blogs about travelling in Africa – what a massive continent this is!
If you’re travelling to Ethiopia, check out our post on how to spend an ideal two days in Lalibela – Everything you need to know. We’ve also taken a day trip to Simien Mountains and meeting the Galata monkeys was a highlight for sure! Our guide was wonderful in the Simien Mountains and we’ve included his contact information in this blog.
Have you ever wondered, how many countries in Africa are there? 54 or 55? We cover them in depth in our Ultimate Africa Bucket List.
It’s worth reading these 17 ESSENTIAL Things to know before travelling to West Africa and be sure to take a look at our delicious Food Map of Africa!
Check out our AFRICA Food Map
You may be interested to read about our experience travelling in Central Africa and why we were moving faster through this region.
Our recap of our Travels in West Africa in 2019 may give you a better insight into what it’s really like to travel overland across Africa.
Check out our AFRICA Page for detailed blogs about individual countries and if you’re simply looking for a place to find our best advice, tips, and suggestions on travel gear and products we use and love, then our Travel Resources Page is for you.
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