Entering Togo by air , Departing by Land: A Guide to Obtaining a Togo Visa
The first time I made it to continent of Africa I visited Ghana, it wasn't until I was leaving Ghana I was told that I should have visited Togo as well since the boarder is only a couple of hours from Accra. I searched a few things about Togo and learned a little about the culture connection to Haitian culture, and I knew I wanted to visit and truly experience Togo for myself. Unfortunately for me I was leaving Ghana in a couple of days. I was so close, yet so far from Togo. As soon as I landed back in the States, the first thing I did was look at Togo's flight prices because I was determined to add Togo to my 30 by 30 country countdown.
During my research there was not much information on the Togo visa process. I even emailed the embassy, and still not much information was given. To my surprise, the visa process was very easy. My travel motto is definitely 2 stones with one bird. I was told the togo visa was only for 7days, and I did not want to buy an expensive ticket just to stay for 7days; since I already had my Ghana visa I decided to fly into togo spend a couple of days and drive to Ghana for the remainder of my trip.
Photographer: @Basile XCVI
Togo Visa Process: Purchase your ticket months in advance
I've crossed land borders before from America to Canada, but this was my first time crossing a land border between 2 neighboring West African countries. I was nervous because I did not know what to expect, but surprisingly, it was not stressful. Thanks to the most high, everything went well; the process took about 1 hour. I don't think this is the case for most travelers because I disclosed this with a few people in Ghana, and they told me their experience was quite different. Before we get into my experience of crossing the Togo border, let's get into the visa process.
First, I would suggest buying your ticket to Togo, tickets can get expensive depending on the season. I bought a one way ticket to Togo for $850 on Ethiopian Air. Once you know the date you are planning to travel buy your ticket as soon as possible. I traveled to togo in December; around this time, tickets to anywhere are pretty expensive, which is why I bought my ticket in May.
Togo's Visa Requirements: E-Visa
The first step is to have a passport that has at least 6 months validity. Togo does require a Visa for most countries. If you are a U.S. passport holder, then yes, you need to obtain a Visa. Togo allows Visa-free entry for the following countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Guinea-Bissau.
There are three different ways you can obtain a Togo Visa. You can print out the form on the embassy site and mail in your application, including your passport, to your closest embassy. You can apply for an E-Visa online. Lastly, you can get a Visa on arrival once you arrive in Togo. I was skeptical about the Visa on arrival because I wanted to ensure I had my documents, especially since I had a connection before arriving in Togo.
I decided to apply for the E-Visa just to ease my nerves. At first, I was going to apply through the embassy, but I decided against it just in case I did not receive my passport back in time. I applied for my E-Visa through https://voyage.gouv.tg/
Once you get on the site you create an account and start to fill-out the application. The application is pretty self explanatory. You answer basic questions about yourself, information regarding your identity, and the reason as to why you you are traveling to Togo and the type of Visa you would like to obtain. In my case I was applying for a tourist Visa. I upload a copy of my flight information, and upload a passport photo. The cost for my E-Visa was 35,000 CFA francs which is $57.5 USD.
Time frame:
My trip to Togo was planned for December 2023, I applied for my E-Visa the first week of December. My visa only allowed me to stay in Togo for 15 days. Once you submit the application you can receive your Visa right after or in a couple of days. On the site you will receive your E-Visa form. I dowloaded the form and printed it out just incase I may not have access to my phone once I landed. When I arrived to Togo I presented my passport, and my E-Visa form. I received my stamp and I was all set to explore the beautiful land of Togo.
Togo's Visa Requirements: Embassy Form
If you are planning on traveling to Togo, I would suggest just applying for an E-Visa.
For those who are still interested on apply through the embassy, you would apply on their site. https://embassyoftogousa.com/visa-application-requirements/
There is a PDF form which you can download, you would then fill out that form.
These are the list of documents to provide for obtaining the visa: according to the embassy site.
Passport valid for at least six (6) months
Two ID photos
Two duly completed forms
Vaccination record
For minors (under 17 years old), parental authorization form duly completed and signed by both parents (to be downloaded in the miscellaneous form section)
1 Returned stamped envelope with applicant's name and address and tracking number/returned stamped envelope with applicant's name and address and track number
Expectation crossing the Togo - Ghana border
As stated previously crossing the boarder was a lot less stressful than I expected. For the majority of our stay we were in Lomé, Togo. The boarder was about 1 hour driver away from us. To make things easier I hired a driving company based in Ghana. called
GrandBlissTransportation. The company sent me a driver from Togo to pick us up, and bring us to the boarder, the driver made sure to help us with everything we needed while at the boarder. We filled out our exit forms and we received our exit stamps out of Togo. Then we crossed to the Ghana side, where we went through the entry process. We already had our Ghana Visa from our last trip which made things easier. Once everything was all set, The company sent a Ghanaian driver to pick us up from the Ghana boarder and we were on our way. The processes took about 45min - 1 hour tops, it was also 9am so things were not as busy.
What Should I know before Traveling to Togo?
The Official language spoken in Togo is a french. There are people in Togo that speak english but it is not common. I would definitely suggest practicing on duo-lingo before your trip. I think it's important to at least a learn a little bit of phrased in the official language of country you will be traveling to. The currency in togo is the CFA franc. Togo is bordered by Ghana,Benin and Burkina Faso. Depending on where you are in Togo you might be able to visit these other countries during your travel. The Togolese are one of the most welcoming people I have met. I felt so welcomed while in Togo, everyone was willing to help me during my stay. All in all I had such a wonderful time in Lóme, Togo and If you plan on visiting in the near future I hope you are able to have an amazing experience.
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