AFRICALLIA

Visa to enter Burkina Faso

To enter to Burkina Faso, one must have a valid passport and a visa for most foreign visitors except citizens from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Visa application forms are available in Burkina Faso’s Embassies and Consulates. A maximum period of 48 hours is required for the issuing of the visa. An extension of the visa can be obtained in the country.

The fees for a three-month stay can be paied by certified cheque, bank or postal money order to Burkina Faso’s Embassy or in cash. For further information, please contact the Embassy of Burkina Faso in your country, or call us at (226) 50 30 61 14 / ext 412

(NB): Participants can obtain their visa upon arrival at the Ouagadougou International Airport as long as organizers are informed in advance.

Hours

Burkina Faso is in the UTC+0 time zone.

Working hours in Burkina Faso are governed by the Labour Code (Act n°028-2008/AN) dated 13th May, 2008, with a legal duration of 40 hours per week.

Official hours of work in offices are as follows:

• In the morning : 7:00 to 12:30

• In the afternoon: 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM

Businesses open from Monday to Saturday from 7:30 to 6:00 PM. Almost all the banks open on Saturday.

Climate

Burkina has a tropical climate with two very contrasted seasons:

• A rainy season which lasts between 3 and 4 months (June-September),

• A dry, longer season, of 8 to 9 months (October-June).

In May, the mean temperature is 31°. You can wear light clothes throughout the year, particularly in the month of May.

Vaccines

Travellers to Burkina Faso must have a valid vaccination record. This document which is controlled by health workers at land or air borders must compulsorily indicate immuzation against yellow fever (yellow fever vaccine). This vaccine is valid for ten year and therefore must be renewed after such period.

The yellow fever vaccine is compulsory. However, it is advised to have a preventive treatment against malaria.

Other types of vaccines can also be considered like those against meningitis, tetanus, etc.

Transportation : taxi and hiring

To move around in Ouagadougou, in good conditions, users may call on taxi companies, which are mainly:

• Taxis Radio (Tel: 226 50 31 43 43),

• Taxis urbains (Tel: 226 50 34 36 36 ),

• Taxis STMB (Tel: 226 50 30 89 90).

In addition to these taxi companies, there are car rental firms to enable tourists and other users to be able to move around both in the town and from town to town. The biggest ones are the following:

• DIACFA AUTOMOBILES 602, Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, Secteur 3, Ouagadougou
• SOCIETE DE TRANSPORTATION MIXTE BANGRIN Secteur 3, Ouagadougou
• MEYCOM VOYAGES 1435, Avenue du Dr Kwamé N’Krumah, Secteur 5, Ouagadougou
• ELITE VOYAGES SARL 390, Rue 12.20, Secteur 2, Ouagadougou
• BURKINA AUTO-LOCATION Secteur 4, Ouagadougou
• SATGURU TRAVAL ET TOURS SERVICE SARL Avenue du Dr Kwamé N’Krumah, Secteur 4, Ouagadougou
• LESDID VOYAGES & TOURISME Secteur 13, Ouagadougou
• FASO LOC 4X4 Secteur 5, Ouagadougou
• SAHEL AUTO LOCATION Avenue du Président A.Sangoulé Lamizana - Azalaï Hôtel Indépendance - 01 BP 2716 Ouagadougou 01
• DEZ - AUTO – LOCATION 01 BP 4222 Ouagadougou 01
• ADA LOCATION DE VEHICULES Av. Yennenga (annexe Hotel Palm beach) 01 BP 967 Ouagadougou 01
• NATIONAL LOCATION En face de l’aéroport
• WEND NAA SIKI LAAFI (location de véhicules 4X4 et voitures légères) Av. Conseil de l’Entente Secteur 9 Ouagadougou

Exchange

Burkina Faso is a member of UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) whose currency unit is the CFA Franc (CFA F), linked to the Euro by a fixed rate:

1 € = 655.957 CFA F

Foreign exchange transactions are mainly carried out by the banks. However, other types of actors (traders, individual persons or legal entities) are authorised to carry out manual exchange activities in accordance with the provisions of regulation R09/98/CM/UEOMA dated 20th December, 1998 on the external relations of the UEMOA Member States.

Electricity

220 volts. Sockets have two round holes like in Europe.