Entry to Togo: Entry requirements and more

 

If you are planning to travel to Togo in Africa soon, you should continue reading attentively here. In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about your entry. For example, we reveal more about the obligation to buy a visa. Get to know all common types of visas and how to apply for them!

We also tell you more about the requirements that the African country imposes on you when entering. These include vaccinations and customs regulations. We list all embassies and consulates of Togo in Germany and who you can contact if a problem arises in your travel country.

In addition, we have valuable information on other exciting topics around your Togo adventure for you. These include travel insurance and entering with children or dogs. You will also learn on this page where the airports are located and what you should know about the airports. Last but not least, we know some attractive travel offers for this part of Africa.

In the next section, we will start with visas for travel to Togo. If you need more information, feel free to read on. You can also scroll down and skip uninteresting sections.

You are a German citizen and would like to travel to African Togo? Then you definitely need a visa, as this is required by the Togolese government. Choose from three options: travelers take the tourist visa, business people take the business visa, and visitors to Togo residents take the visitor visa.

You can apply for the document before entry at official representations in Germany, on the internet or through our service. Additionally, you have the option to apply for it only "on arrival". In any case, you will need a passport, a passport photo, your flight confirmation, and a completed visa application.

Try to organize the visa before your trip begins, as this will save you a lot of time during the trip. Moreover, visas organized in advance are valid for much longer (up to 90 days) than the alternatives that you can obtain upon your entry (up to 15 days). However, the shorter visas can be extended in the country if you contact the "Direction générale de la documentation nationale".

Are you in a hurry? We have thought of you too: With an express visa, you can save additional time. The processing of your application takes up to ten days. However, you should expect additional fees.

You should always carry a copy of your visa with you on the go – just like a copy of your passport. Note that all required travel documents must also be valid for the entire duration of your visa's validity. Additionally, you should remember that expired visas can result in fines. The Togolese authorities may also deny you exit.

When traveling to this African country, we recommend that you definitely take out some travel insurance. Different policies make sense. In addition to the mandatory trip cancellation insurance provided to you by some travel providers, you should primarily think about your health.

Be sure to take out international health insurance with repatriation insurance. The insurers then cover all or part of the costs if you become ill, are injured, or have an accident in your holiday country. If no treatment is possible on site or if you are too impaired to continue traveling, the included repatriation protection will take you back to Germany.

Check the policies carefully before concluding the contract so that you know 100 percent what you can specifically expect from this insurance. Note that you may still be charged costs depending on the situation.

To be able to act in time in case of doubt, we recommend that you carry a well-equipped first aid kit with you. This should be individually adapted to your life situation and your destination country. For example, if you need a specific medication, take a little more of it. Also, think about sun protection, heat protection, and insect protection. You will learn more about sensible vaccinations in a later section.

Togolese people are generally not insured and therefore cannot pay for accidentally damaged devices or accidents caused by them. So take good care of yourself and your belongings on the way. Carry – if possible – no unnecessary valuables with you. Pay attention to safety precautions, for example by using a safe or wearing a helmet when riding in motorcycle taxis.

This part of Africa is a known infection area for yellow fever. The infectious disease is caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. After infection, a first bout of illness occurs within three to six days with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and pain. These can be mild or severe. The symptoms subside, but a second bout with hepatitis is possible.

In one out of five to ten cases, the disease is fatal. Therefore, all individuals from nine months of age require a mandatory proof of yellow fever vaccination upon entry. This is almost 100 percent effective. You only need a basic vaccination, which should be done at least ten days before entry. The protection is effective for life and therefore does not need to be refreshed in most cases. Try to constantly protect yourself from mosquitoes.

In addition, you are free to ask your doctor or a tropical institute for further vaccinations. In Togo, poliomyelitis, better known as polio, still exists. Vaccinations against this disease are highly recommended. The same applies possibly for meningococci, hepatitis A and B, polio, rabies, and typhoid. Before traveling, also make sure to get all regular vaccinations done or refreshed before the start of the trip. You can get advice from your general practitioner.

The coronavirus (Covid-19) also affects your travel country. However, you do not necessarily need a corona vaccination for your entry. But if you want to enter an administrative building, you must be able to show a complete vaccination with a vaccine recognized by the WHO. Therefore, bring your vaccination card.

Do you want to take your child on the journey? The African country can be a fascinating experience for children. The climate, the environment, and the culture encourage learning and being more open to the world overall. Nevertheless, parents should consider a few things when taking their children to Togo with them. For example, they need a valid child's passport upon entry.

Children must be vaccinated against yellow fever before traveling if they are older than nine months. Note that the yellow fever vaccination may not last a lifetime in children under two years old as it does in older individuals.

Just like in pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, it is possible that the vaccination protection may need to be renewed later. Please consult a vaccination-knowledgeable physician for more information. Other vaccinations are even more important for children than for adults. Therefore, talk to your general practitioner before the trip.

In addition to the diseases mentioned above such as yellow fever or polio, children can contract other diseases against which there is no vaccination yet. These include dengue fever and malaria. It is therefore extremely important that you protect your children and yourself against mosquitoes at all times. Wear long, light clothing and apply a reliable insect repellent to exposed skin areas. Use a mosquito net while resting.

Diseases related to hygiene are also possible. Therefore, always pay attention to good hygiene. Do not bathe in bodies of water and stay away from sick animals. Your travel country is also hot all year round, which means you should protect your child from excessive heat.

If you own a dog, you would probably like to take it with you to the country you are visiting. In Togo however, this is not a particularly good idea. The hygienic conditions are challenging, and there are risks for the animal due to the high temperatures and a number of potential infectious diseases.

In your destination country, your dog can, for example, contract rabies. The transmission of the pathogens requires only brief contact with an infected animal or human, such as by touching the mucous membranes or a bite.

Rabies can be fatal, but there is a vaccination for dogs. This is also mandatory for pets brought along at entry without a valid vaccination certificate, you cannot take your pet into the country.

The Togolese authorities also require dog owners to have a current health certificate. You can obtain this from your veterinarian or veterinary physician. It is also recommended to contact the Togolese embassy before entry with a dog.

If you want to enter Togo, you may have to contact Togolese customs directly. This is necessary, for example, if you are bringing a large amount of money. From 1,000,000 CFA Franc BCEAO (XOF) or 1,500 EUR, you should declare the import in writing. Up to half of this amount, however, this is not necessary. The same applies to alternative means of payment such as traveller's checks of this value. You may freely import banknotes from the FCFA zone.

Import regulations also apply to cigarettes. Do not carry more than 200 cigarettes or ten packs/boxes with you when entering the country. In Togo, smoking is also a popular pastime, so you can often buy cigarettes or tobacco locally. Moreover, the inclusion of tobacco, cigars, wine, spirits, perfume, and fragrances is limited. Upon departure, you may take goods worth between 175 and 430 euros with you (depending on the age of the traveller and the type of onward travel).

Note that the regulations for the import and export of goods at Togolese customs can change constantly. Sometimes, even the Foreign Office is not informed about news. For any inquiries, it is best to contact the Togolese foreign representations in Germany directly.

Also, when returning from Togo to Germany, you must think of customs – in this case, the German customs. Learn more about this topic on the website of the authority (https://www.zoll.de/DE/Home/home_node.html). You can also call customs or download the 'Customs and Travel' app.

Togo is a relatively small country with an area of only about 57,000 square kilometers and a population of about 8.5 million people. Nevertheless, there are two international airports: Lomé Airport (Aéroport International Gnassingbé Eyadéma, short LFW) and Niamtougou/Lama Kara Airport (Niamtougou International Airport, LRL).

The airport in Lomé was named after a former Togolese president. Most visitors land here. For example, you can reach it with Air France flights. There is also an official website that you can find on the internet at https://aeroportdelome.com/. Lomé is located in the very south of Togo on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Corona rules still apply at this airport. Note that you must register electronically via the Lomé airport at https://voyage.gouv.tg/ before your entry. Present an EU digital COVID certificate if you are fully vaccinated.

If you do not have a valid vaccination certificate, you must provide proof of a negative PCR test (not older than five days) or have a PCR test done on site at your expense. Then you can expect a 24- to 48-hour isolation until the test result is available.

If you want to disembark further north, you should try to reach Niamtougou Airport. However, this is rarely possible because there are hardly any commercial planes that fly to this airport.

The place Niamtougou is located in the Kara region. It is not far from the border to the neighboring country Benin. However, the airport is slightly smaller than the alternative in the south, as it is only the second largest in the country. Smaller civil airports are also located in Anié, Atakpamé, Dapaong, Sansanne Mango, and Sokodé.

Would you like to make a brief stopover in Togo during your onward journey and wonder if and what rules you might have to observe? Do you already need a visa for this purpose, or can you do without it because you are not entering the country? And how long are you welcome in a Togolese transit area?

Provided you travel onward within 24 hours and do not leave the transit area during your stay, you are not required to have a visa. However, if you want to leave the airport, for example to visit Lomé or other Togolese cities, you must first apply for a visa. If necessary, you can also do this at the airport. The service is chargeable.

When transiting within Togo, you should expect that the regulations around Covid-19 also apply to you – at least partially. If you have full vaccination protection, you should definitely bring proof. This will save you further inquiries. Germans should ideally carry a digital COVID certificate of the EU.

If you are unvaccinated, you must be able to present a PCR test that is no more than five days old and proves that you are currently not infected with the coronavirus. However, you will not be retested on site, unlike sometimes with entrants. Therefore, you are also not expected to quarantine until the result is available, provided you remember the proof or your vaccination certificate.

There are several good reasons why you should contact a foreign representation of Togo in Germany before or after your trip. Examples include questions about visas or current import and export regulations of the country. The Embassy of Togo in the Federal Republic is located in the German capital Berlin. It is responsible for the entire Republic. You can reach it on the internet at the web address https://ambatogoberlin.de/visa/.

Honorary consulates and honorary general consulates are also located within Germany in the following cities:

- Bonn (North Rhine-Westphalia)
- Bremen (Bremen, Hamburg, and Schleswig-Holstein)
- Deidesheim (Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and Hesse)
- Hanover (Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia)
- Pullach (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Saxony)

In the parentheses, you will find the federal states for which the consulates are responsible.

Conversely, in your travel country Togo you will also find foreign representations of the Federal Republic of Germany. The only point of contact, the German Embassy, is located in Lomé. It is known under the name "Ambassade de la République fédérale d'Allemagne". You can reach the office by phone at +228 22 23 32 32. You can find the internet presence here: https://lome.diplo.de/. For emergencies, the embassy also offers an on-call service at https://lome.diplo.de/tg-de/ueber-uns/-/1992218.

Would you like to get to know an unusual but exciting country in Africa on your next vacation? Discover an attractive offer for the trip to Togo here.

When you travel to Togo, a tropical climate and an exciting culture await you. Unexpected adventures are almost guaranteed! Get to know a second interesting travel offer here.

You can take a closer look at an additional offer for your trip to Togo on the African Atlantic coast here.