Visa requirements for Burundian citizens

Burundian citizens need a Schengen visa, which covers all member states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Of the 198 countries whose entry rules are known in both directions, Burundi and 47 of them let each other’s citizens in without a visa obtained in advance (visa-free, on arrival or with an ETA; an e-visa counts as a visa).

151 countries ask holders of the Burundian passport for a visa beforehand, although their own citizens enter Burundi without one: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola and 146 others.

102 countries ask holders of the Burundian passport for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 14 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in Burundi.

88 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in Burundi, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country. Counting the post an official diplomatic list names for Burundi, or else the nearest one within 2,000 km, those posts are most often in Kenya (10), Uganda (7), Ethiopia (7) and South Sudan (2).

The United States refused 69% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of Burundi in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 182 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 14 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Visa-free travel with the Burundian passport

By continent, the Burundian passport is visa-free in 10 countries in Africa, 5 countries in the Americas, 2 countries in Asia and 1 country in Oceania. The longest visa-free stays for Burundian citizens are allowed in Kenya (180 days), Rwanda (180 days), Barbados (90 days), Benin (90 days), the Central African Republic (90 days) and Ecuador (90 days).

Visa on arrival

Burundian citizens can get a visa at the airport or land border of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cape Verde, the Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana and 21 others.

E-Visa and electronic travel authorisation

An e-Visa, applied for online before the trip, is how Burundian citizens enter Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia and 42 others. Ivory Coast and Suriname ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

Burundi’s neighbours

Tanzania, DR Congo and Rwanda admit Burundian citizens without a visa.

How the passport compares

Among neighbouring passports, the Tanzanian passport ranks 127th (67 destinations), the Rwandan passport ranks 135th (63 destinations) and the passport of DR Congo ranks 181st (42 destinations). Of the 198 passports in the data, 6 can enter visa-free and 192 get a visa on arrival for Burundi.