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Although the UN does not recognise Somaliland as a country, you DO require a visa for it and trust us, you cannot get it at the border.
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.
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.
If you need to print or copy any documents we recommend using these two hotels not far from the embassy.
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.
To prepare for your stay in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland – we recommend pre-booking a hotel for your travel dates. There are few tourist hotels here, so it’s a good idea to have confirmation before your arrival.
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.
We have many travel guides and tips for Africa – what a massive continent!
Have you ever wondered how many countries in Africa there are? 54 or 55? We cover them in depth in our ultimate Africa bucket list.
There is some delicious cuisine to be enjoyed across Africa, and these ten best African countries for food will inspire your food journey.
Check out how many of these 15 most popular foods you can taste.
If you’re wondering what they eat for breakfast in Africa, check out these 20 popular breakfast foods.
For food lovers, our Food Map of AFRICA lists the quintessential dish you need to eat in every nation!
It’s worth reading these 17 ESSENTIAL Things to know before travelling to West Africa, and our packing list for Africa may be helpful to you.
Don’t miss our recap of our travels across West Africa for even more helpful tips, and try these popular West African dishes; they’re fantastic!
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6 Comments. Leave new
I’m interested in going to Somaliland from Harar like you did. When you apply for visa in Addis Abeba, don’t they ask you for the yellow fever certificate and an invitation letter? I know they are both required for the Djibouti visa.
I also read about armed escorts on the journey through Somaliland but it seems you had none. Is that correct?
Hi Ivan,
No, the Somaliland embassy in Addis Ababa does not request LOI to obtain the visa. They didn’t request our yellow fever certificate, however, we always take it with us when applying for any visas in Africa (just to be safe and one step ahead of the game). Armed escorts are not required on the journey from Harar, Ethiopia to Hargeisa in Somaliland – however, you will encounter around 10-12 security checkpoints on the way. (We didn’t have any problems, just have your passport ready to show them). As you can see from our post, we took a few shared taxis to get to Hargeisa. If you do plan to travel outside of Hargeisa and further to explore Somaliland, this is when you are required to have armed escorts.
So they didn’t request your yellow fever certificate at the border to Somaliland, neither?
Didn’t you visit the Las Geel caves and Berbera? If not, was it for securuty reasons?
Thanks Rach! My plan is to leave Hargeisa, visit the Laas Geel caves and spend a few days at the seaside in Berbera at the end of my journey through Ethiopia. You have tips for that or you just visited Hargeisa? If so, was it for security reasons?
Ivan ,I hopped on local bus without guide and or security person.At a check stop only asked for passport.Did not get out at Laas Caves. Berbera looked for guest house,stayed two nights then return Hargeisa.Try it.If problem should arise at check point,get off bus hitch back to Hargeisa.Met independent back packer at Hotel in Hargeisa who did this and it worked .No security problems in Berbera.