Burundi permanent resident visa

The permanent resident visa sits at the end of a sequence the CGM publishes: a foreigner first enters on an airport entry, stay or multiple-entry visa, may apply for the two-year establishment visa (USD 500) after at least six months in Burundi, and then submits the establishment visas received as part of the permanent resident file. Within the CGM’s central administration, a Central Commissariat is in charge of foreigners.

The CGM lists the ordinary permanent resident visa as issued on the authorisation of the Ministry of the Interior. Its document list shows the profile it targets: a foreigner who already holds or held establishment visas, the two-year residence title, and who owns property in Burundi, proven by a property title. The CGM does not publish a minimum number of years.

Submit an application letter addressed to the CGM, a photocopy of the passport, the property title and the establishment visas you have received. When the passport is replaced, the permanent resident visa is transferred on a letter to the CGM with copies of the new passport, the current permanent resident visa and the expired or lost passport; the CGM notes that other documents may be required depending on the person’s status.

The ordinary permanent resident visa costs USD 1,200 and is valid for 99 years. Certified copies for children and transfers to a new passport are free and carry the same 99-year validity.

Certified copies are required for minor children whose parents hold a permanent resident visa. A parent writes to the CGM and attaches a copy of the father’s or mother’s permanent resident visa and passport, the child’s passport and current visa, the child’s birth certificate extract and a passport photo of the child.

The CGM is at Avenue de l’OUA, Kigobe, Bujumbura, open Monday to Friday from 7:30 to 16:30, telephone +257 22 45 12 78, email contact@migration.gov.bi; technical support for the online platform is on +257 79 12 81 28.