Algeria transit visa

Law No. 08-11 exempts from the consular visa any foreigner transiting Algeria by air, as well as ship passengers and crew members during a port call and aircraft crew during a stopover. If you need to leave the airport, change airports, stay overnight in the city or cross Algeria by land, you need a transit visa unless your nationality is visa-exempt.

The visa is granted to a foreigner who already holds the visa of the destination country (where one is required) and can show enough money for the transit. It is valid for at most seven days and can exceptionally be renewed once.

Algerian missions ask for two signed forms with photos, a valid visa or entry document for the final destination, a ticket to that destination, evidence of income or activity, and a passport valid for six months with two blank pages. Applicants who are not citizens of the country where they apply add a copy of their residence permit.

Other embassies phrase the condition the same way: proof of the destination visa where that country requires one, and proof of resources for the transit period.

The transit visa fee follows reciprocity. The Washington embassy charges US citizens USD 160; other missions may take the fee in cash without publishing the amount.

Carriers that bring a passenger without the required documents or visa, including a passenger in transit, face a civil fine of DZD 150,000 to 500,000 and must fly the passenger back. Airlines therefore check transit documents strictly at boarding.

The border police can issue a safe-conduct pass of two to seven days to foreign ship and aircraft crews. A foreign seafarer travelling through Algeria to join a ship in an Algerian port needs a seaman's book or a passport with an entry visa where one is required.