Working in Burundi as a French National: Visa, Contract, Tax and Economy

France Diplomatie describes a single visa for entering Burundi: a single-entry visa, requested online on the immigration authorities’ website and then issued at the airport for USD 90, with a maximum duration of one month and a possible extension on the spot. The page specifies neither a passport requirement, nor a residence permit, nor a work permit. The General Migration Commission (avenue de l’OUA, Kigobe, Bujumbura) issues visas and travel documents and offers an online visa application service; it should be contacted before any employment project (telephone +257 22 45 12 78, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).

An employee recruited by a local employer or by an international organisation in practice has the authorisations arranged by the employer, who knows the procedure in force. As the exact conditions of a work and residence permit could not be read in an official text, they are not detailed here: it is better to ask the employer for a written summary of the permits to obtain, the timescales and the fees before departure. Entry by land is limited: the border with the DRC is closed except at the Gatumba post, open in daytime, and the land border with Rwanda may be closed (status to be checked).

An employee on a local contract signs a contract under Burundian law. The official pages consulted publish neither a minimum wage in force nor a pay scale: these amounts fall under the Burundian ministry responsible for labour and should be checked with it or with the employer before any signature. A figure not read on an official source is not reproduced here.

For an expatriate, the international contract generally includes pay in foreign currency, a housing allowance, children’s schooling, annual return tickets and health cover with repatriation. The latter is crucial: France Diplomatie describes medical infrastructure as inadequate. Reading the contract carefully covers the applicable law, the length of the secondment, the health cover clause and repatriation at the end of the assignment. For the statuses, see seconded or expatriate.

The page on international tax treaties on impots.gouv.fr lists no treaty between France and Burundi. The domestic law of each country therefore applies, and a risk of double taxation cannot be ruled out: tax residence is determined by French criteria and Burundian rules. The Burundian income tax scales on employment income and the contribution rates of the national social security institute could not be read in an official text; they should be requested from the Burundi Revenue Authority, the institute and the employer.

Burundi is not on the list of social security agreements published by CLEISS: there is no totalisation of insurance periods between the two schemes. On health, the Burundi Revenue Authority points out that the health insurance card (CAM), priced at BIF 3,000, is mandatory, under the joint ministerial order of 7 February 2025, for every household and every person aged 18 or over who is not affiliated to any other mutual scheme: it is sold in public or approved health centres. See healthcare reimbursement in Burundi.

A seconded employee of a French employer comes, in the absence of an agreement, under secondment outside an agreement. According to CLEISS, the duration is three years, renewable only once, so six years at most, and a new secondment in the same country for the same company is possible only after two years. Beyond that, the employee becomes an expatriate and comes only under the local scheme. A seconded employee remains affiliated to the French scheme and, if the host country’s scheme is compulsory, to that one as well; formalities are handled with the international mobility service of Urssaf (the French social security contributions collector). Sickness-maternity is reimbursed within the limit of the benefits that would be paid in France, and family benefits are paid only for children living in France.

A self-employed person has no employer to handle their file: the authorisation to practise and the residence permit are prepared with the General Migration Commission and the relevant authorities. A remote worker coming to work for a foreign employer must also check the applicable visa, as the one-month single-entry visa is not designed for settling. See digital nomad insurance.

According to the DG Trésor record (the French Treasury’s economic directorate), Burundi’s GDP is estimated at about USD 7 billion, or less than USD 500 per capita for 14 million inhabitants, one of the smallest economies in the region; the human development index is among the lowest in the world. Agriculture accounts for about 40% of GDP and 80% of employment, with a predominance of food crops, coffee and tea being the main exports. Services represent about 43% of GDP and industry about 17%. The informal sector is said to account for nearly 37% of GDP and to employ over 90% of the working population.

Growth is driven by coffee and gold prices. The IMF maintains a high risk of debt distress. Foreign exchange reserves cover 1.6 months of imports, and the dual exchange rate feeds shortages of foreign currency and fuel. The authorities are betting on the mining sector (nickel, gold, rare earths), held back by being landlocked, the lack of infrastructure and limited access to energy. The ‘Economic indicators’ block above gives the recent trend in inflation and the exchange rate.

The French school of Bujumbura Nelson-Mandela takes 597 pupils from the youngest nursery class to the final year (record of the AEFE, the Agency for French Education Abroad). For safety, France Diplomatie places the country under heightened vigilance, advises against the whole border with the DRC and recommends not travelling at night: the choice of housing, which should be guarded, and of commuting routes takes this into account. The page on living in Burundi details the settling-in, and the guide to health insurance in Burundi presents the cover requirements.