Zaire: Information on the status of a foreign businessman and his family living in Zaire on a renewable business visa, and on their right to stay, return and renew this visa
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZAR17720.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Zaire: Information on the status of a foreign businessman and his family living in Zaire on a renewable business visa, and on their right to stay, return and renew this visa, 1 July 1994, ZAR17720.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab9c50.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to a representative of the embassy of Zaire in Ottawa, a foreign businessman living in Zaire with his family on a renewable business visa has the right of residence in Zaire during the period permitted by the visa (4 July 1994). The person also has the right to return to Zaire, and if he or she requires it, can renew the visa until the business is well established (ibid.). The visa assigned to foreign business persons visiting or establishing a business in Zaire is called the visa d'établissement (ibid.). Foreign business persons wanting to enter Zaire must first obtain the visa d'établissement from a Zaire diplomatic mission nearest to them (ibid.). The representative could not describe the requirements for obtaining this visa, but stated that a foreign business person resident in Zaire with his family for the purpose of doing business in the country must have a visa d'établissement (ibid.).
A person holding this visa has the right of return to Zaire and can travel outside of Zaire with a visa de sortie, which entitles the holder to a six month stay outside the country each year (ibid.). The representative stated that once the business is fully established, the person may be entitled to a "permanent" form of visa d'établissement in Zaire. Such a visa is valid for five years and is renewable, but he was unable to provide further information.
The Washington-based north American representative of the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrés Social (UDPS), a Kinshasa-based opposition party, corroborated the above information provided by the representative of the embassy of Zaire in Ottawa concerning the need by foreign business persons and their families to carry the visa d'établissement in Zaire (5 July 1994). For general visa information and requirements for entering Zaire, please refer to the attachment.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Embassy of the Republic of Zaire, Ottawa. 4 July 1994. Telephone interview with representative.
Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS), Washington, DC. 5 July 1994. Telephone interview with representative.
Attachment
Embassy of the Republic of Zaire, Ottawa. n.d. "Requirements and General Information for Visa Application."
Additional Sources Consulted
Professor in African studies, Howard University, Washington, DC.
Assistant deputy director, African Studies Programme, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington, DC.
Embassy of the Republic of Zaire, Washington, DC.
Export Development Corporation, Ottawa.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, New York.
Zaire Network Office (Zairois anti-government associations), Washington, DC.
