A visa is required to enter the Central African Republic. The application must be submitted before travel through an embassy of the Central African Republic. The passport should remain valid for at least six months after the planned departure; because authorities and airlines may apply different reference points, travelers should confirm the specific requirement with the embassy and carrier before departure. Fees and processing times depend on nationality and visa type. No reliable nationwide fee schedule is documented. An international vaccination certificate may be required upon entry, particularly proof of yellow fever vaccination. This proof is especially relevant for arriving travelers aged nine months and over. The yellow fever vaccine approved by the WHO is generally valid for life. Pre-travel tropical-medicine advice should also cover malaria prevention, mosquito protection and, depending on the trip, hepatitis A, typhoid, meningitis or rabies. Regular medication should remain in its original packaging and should be accompanied by a prescription. Insurance with medical evacuation is particularly relevant given the limited healthcare available. The main international access point is Bangui-M'Poko; Bangui can be reached via Douala almost daily. Accommodation, pickup and transport should be arranged and confirmed in advance with a reliable contact. Airports, land borders and roads can close at short notice. Night travel should be avoided, and the security situation outside Bangui and Bimbo is severely restricted. Photographing airports, government buildings, military facilities and police facilities is prohibited or permitted only with authorization. Passports, visas and vaccination certificates should be kept securely; copies make checks easier. Card payments and cash withdrawals from ATMs are severely limited and are practically unavailable outside the capital. Cash should be obtained or carried only securely, during the day and preferably with an escort. For people entering through regular channels, no generally documented municipal registration, reporting requirement or nationwide arrival office exists. Depending on the situation, a local host, the responsible authority, an embassy or a consulate must be confirmed individually. Registration does not replace a visa or residence status for regular entry. People seeking protection have a separate pathway for access to the territory and asylum procedures. The National Refugee Commission (Commission Nationale pour les Réfugiés), or CNR, and UNHCR carry out pre-registration, biometric registration and later updates. Depending on the influx, registration takes place at border crossings, in Korsi, in refugee settlements, in host communities or during periodic field missions. Possible documents include an asylum-seeker attestation (Attestation de demandeur d'asile) or a refugee card (carte de réfugié). Registration may facilitate access to protection, healthcare, support for gender-based violence, child protection and civil-status documents; no uniform nationwide deadline or single appointment is documented. For Central African returnees and internally displaced people, IOM, the government and the reintegration programme (PARET) work with the responsible authorities. If travel documents are missing, nationality verification and an assessment of eligibility may be required. Depending on needs, location and funding, possible support includes transport costs, in-kind assistance, cash, water and sanitation services, health referrals, psychosocial support and reintegration or livelihood assistance. This support does not automatically apply to every newly arriving person and does not replace long-term housing provision. Healthcare remains fragile nationwide. In 2025, only 39.8 percent of 1,014 health facilities were fully functional; the Health Cluster estimated that around 955,000 people would have significant health needs in 2026. Access, cost and quality depend heavily on location, the security situation and partner capacity. Mobile clinics, vaccination services, Community Health Workers, referrals and water and sanitation assistance are particularly relevant for refugees, returnees and hard-to-reach communities. Medical treatment is not generally free, advance payment is often required and medicines may be scarce.
Arrival in the Central African Republic
Arrival in the Central African Republic requires entry, health and security arrangements to be clarified in advance. There is no documented nationwide welcome or one-stop service for people entering through regular channels; accommodation, pickup, transport and initial contacts usually have to be arranged individually. Refugees, returnees and internally displaced people have their own registration and support pathways. Services and access vary considerably by location, security situation and available partners.
Tip
Plan arrival in the Central African Republic as a trip requiring individual safeguards, not as use of a nationwide reception service. Do not travel until entry documents, health precautions, insurance, accommodation and pickup have been confirmed. Anyone seeking protection or arriving as a Central African returnee should use the designated humanitarian pathway; regular entry does not replace protection registration.