And I'm Off!

Well I finally have a ticket and a hotel reservation in Sharm El Sheik for tomorrow so that means that I am really going! I even have an exit visa in my passport! This is the only country that I know of that requires a visa to exit the country. Before that can happen I need my residence visa and for that to happen here are the procedures listed below. HAC is the government department that deals with all the NGO’s.

The process to get an initial visa into Sudan consists of :
1) Approval by HAC Director General and Approval by HAC Security Dept was
1 day to several weeks is now 3 weeks to I month (cost still free)
3) Approval by Immigration was 1 - 2 weeks is now 3 days (cost was US$ 50
now US$ 46)
4) Approval by Foreign Ministry was 1- 2 weeks now 3 days (cost still
free)
5) Visa stamp in passport in Sudanese Embassy (US$ 55-100)

Once a temporary visa is granted and staff arrive in Khartoum NGOs need to
change this to a longer term stay visa and work permit. These have to be
renewed each time the ?Moratorium? is extended and requires the following:
1) Initial Registration Dept of Interior still 1 day (cost was US$ 30 now
US$ 41)
2) Approval by HAC Director General and Approval by HAC Security Dept was
1 day to several weeks now 7 days (cost free)
4) HIV/AIDS test or exemption for first time only still 1 day.
5) Work permit Ministry of Labour was 1 - 5 days now 7 days to 1 ?2
months (cost was US$ 75 now US$ XXX) (Can be valid for up to a year)
6) Approval by Immigration was 1 - 2 weeks now 2 weeks (cost was U$ 100)

Both with a temporary stay or a longer term visas you also need a travel
permit to get to Darfur. This requires the following:
1) Approval by HAC Director General 1 day - several weeks (Free)
2) Approval by HAC Security Dept 1 day to several weeks (Free)
3) Issuing of ID HAC card / permit in Khartoum 2 days (US$ 10) (not being
done now)

Another requirement for travel out of the country is the exit and re-entry
visa which is only valid for one trip. Each of these require the
following:
1) Approval by HAC Director General 1 day - several weeks (Free)
2) Approval by HAC Security Dept 1 day to several weeks (Free)
3) Tax clearance 1 day (US$ 1)
3) Approval by Immigration 1 - 2 weeks (US$ 87)

Should staff finish their contracts and intend to leave Sudan NGOs also
need to pay for a final exit visa
1 day ? 1 week (US$ 48)

Yet one more permit required is the state HAC card which allows NGO staff
to travel out of the state capital. This was previously issued for a year
but recently is also linked to the extension of moratorium. Recently HAC
in South Darfur has said that it needs to be paid US$ 10 per staff member
(national and international). If this is applied and extended to the rest
of Darfur would result in an additional cost of nearly US$ 130,000


I would love to say that the most difficult part of working in Darfur is the heat, the dust, the fighting, the insecurity, the living conditions or anything else that people could relate to. However, dealing with all of these procedures and the constant delays of R&R’s, travel passes (which allow us to move within Darfur) and the constant fight to just allow us to do the job is the most draining. The rest you get used to.