The Democratic Republic of the Congo: The existence of a mandatory stamp on administrative documents
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Publication Date | 6 May 2011 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | COD103748.FE |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, The Democratic Republic of the Congo: The existence of a mandatory stamp on administrative documents, 6 May 2011, COD103748.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4f9e61452.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. |
Two official sources consulted by the Research Directorate state that the mandatory practice of putting a revenue stamp on administrative documents issued in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains in place, but that it is not always observed (DRC 29 Apr. 2011; ibid. . 28 Apr. 2011).
During a telephone interview with the Research Directorate on 29 April 2011, the burgomaster of the commune of Lingwala, one of the 24 communes of the city of Kinshasa (DRC 24 Sept. 2008), stated that the revenue stamp is very often put on documents requested by people wanting to travel abroad. The burgomaster added that people who submit requests to obtain documents other than travel documents must, upon making the request, specify that a revenue stamp be put on these documents (DRC 29 Apr. 2011). During a 28 April 2011 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Ottawa explained that some administrative officers do not put the revenue stamp on documents because they forget or to avoid it taking up too much space on the document, such as in the case of a state diploma. Furthermore, the representative of the embassy stated that the revenue stamp is regularly put on documents such as death or marriage certificates, as proof of payment (DRC 28 Apr. 2011). However, the embassy representative pointed out that the documents issued by the embassies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo do not bear a revenue stamp (ibid..).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 29 April 2011. Commune of Lingwala. Telephone interview with the burgomaster.
_____. 28 April 2011. Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Ottawa. Telephone interview with a representative.
_____. 24 September 2008. Ordonnnance n° 08/057 du 24 septembre 2008 portant nomination des bourgmestres et bourgmestres adjoints des communes.
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following people and organizations were unsuccessful: Democratic Republic of the Congo communes of Kalamu and of Lemba, as well as embassies in Brussels, Lusaka, Paris and Pretoria; Embassy of Canada in Kinshasa; Embassy of the United States in Kinshasa; Héritiers de la justice; researcher from the International Migration Institute, University of Oxford; UN Development Programme and United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Internet sites, including: Afrik.com, Afrol News, AllAfrica.com, Centre des droits de l'homme et du droit humanitaire, city of Kinshasa, city of Lubumbashi, La Conscience [Kinshasa], Digitalcongo.net, L'Observateur [Kinshasa], Organisation internationale de la francophonie, Panapress, Le Potentiel [Kinshasa], Radio Okapi, Societecivile.cd, Union internationale des télécommunications, United Nations — UN Development Programme, High Commissioner for Refugees.
