Immigration
Residence tied to employment, with CEMAC free movement
Foreign nationals require a visa unless covered by the CEMAC protocol, and residence permits are generally tied to authorised employment. Refugee status is governed by the 2011 asylum law.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Direction Générale de l'Administration du Territoire and the police aux frontières control status.
- Deadline — Carte de séjour: applied for after arrival
- Deadline — Asylum claim: lodged with the CNAR
Governing law
- Loi n° 23-96 fixant les conditions d'entrée, de séjour et de sortie des étrangers
- Loi n° 23-2011 portant statut des réfugiés
- CEMAC free movement protocol
In practice
The 2011 refugee statute matters more than the general immigration law in practice, because the Republic of the Congo has hosted successive displaced populations from DR Congo and CAR across the river and the northern border.