Cape Verde visas

Cape Verdean Minister Fernando Elísio Freire announced recently that from 1 January 2019, European visitors to Cape Verde no longer require a visitor’s visa. The exemption is for 32 countries, also including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein.

The Cape Verde government first announced the intention to introduce this exemption for European visitors in the Spring of 2018. At that point, the intention was for it to come into force in May 2018. The government, however, delayed the implementation a few times, partly to give tour operators time to update their computer systems.

The Minister said that the reason for this exemption was to increase tourism to Cape Verde. The policy has caused controversy within Cape Verde, because Cape Verdean visitors to Europe don’t have a similar dispensation.

Whilst we trust the sources of this information, we are waiting for confirmation from European visitors entering Cape Verde.