Democratic Republic of Congo – Covid-19 – Immigration update

To check the real time evolutions concerning international mobility all over of the world, discover the GoWork – COVID-19 Digital Card.

Update : April 16th, 2020

State health emergency, travel restrictions implemented

What is the change?

The Democratic Republic of the Congo recently declared a state public health emergency, and implemented a number of travel restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Key points

  • All flights from COVID-19 affected countries are suspended, including flights transiting through countries affected by COVID-19. All national borders are closed for travel with exceptions for the transporting of cargo by ships or other means. Cargo and freight personnel are subject to public health measures.
  • Effective from March 24, a state public health emergency was declared, resulting in a nationwide lockdown which restricts the movement of people. Individuals are to remain at home except when they need to go out for food, health reasons or work. Additionally, domestic flights between Kinshasa and the provinces are suspended. Public institutions are providing limited services with staff working on a rotational basis.
  • Many of the public institutions are located in Gombe (one of the Kinshasa’s communes), which is under a lockdown. The implication of these measures on visa process is that only permit applications designated as a priority are being processed. The processing of other permit applications has been postponed until the emergency is over.
  • For people with COVID-19 symptoms, or who have been affected by COVID-19, there is a 14-day quarantine in place.

The state public health emergency and travel restrictions will impact the movement of people into and within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Employers should account for affected travelers and rearrange travel schedules accordingly.

For more information about tax measures in Democratic Republic of Congo: click here

Sophie Carlei

Sophie est Managing Director au sein de l’équipe Mobilité Internationale de Lyon et dirige l’équipe immigration. Elle conseille les groupes français et internationaux et intervient tant pour des clients travaillant dans […]

Fatia Bouteiller

Fatia Bouteiller a rejoint Deloitte Société d’Avocats en 2017 pour renforcer l’équipe Immigration. Fatia dispose d’une expérience de 15 ans en mobilité internationale dans les domaines du droit de l’immigration, […]