Please be advised The Democratic Republic of the Congo embassy in Washington DC or consulate in New York must now receive approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kinshasa prior to visa issuance, this approval process can extend the processing time beyond the 10 business days required by the Embassy or Consulate to grant a visa.

Both the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Washington DC and the DRC Consulate in New York have annouced these new visa processing times.

All visa types (except Business USAID / NGO, 2-4 Business Days) in both Washington DC and New York will now require at least 10 + business days, previously DRC visas could be issued in as little as 1-2 days, this is no longer the case the Embassy has informed traveldocs that they cannot process any visas in less than 10 business days with most visas taking between 10 & 20 business days.

Please plan ahead to avoid disapointment.