Living in Congo as a French National: Cities, Formalities and Daily Life

Congo is a country where French is the official language, with Lingala and Kituba as national lingua franca languages and Lari, Teke and Mbochi among the common languages. This linguistic ease is a major asset, all the more so as exchanges with France are significant. France Diplomatie describes a fairly open society and religious practices, with social control not particularly strict, behaviour respectful of customs being expected.

• Strengths: language, expatriate community, the Congo River and forests, direct Air France flights to Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, the medical and social centre of the French embassy in Brazzaville.
• Points of caution: very high road risk, year-round malaria, a weak hospital network, possible fuel shortages, the precarious situation of a large part of the population, online-only visa formalities.
• Economic context: an economy dominated by hydrocarbons and a fragile social situation according to France Diplomatie, with a risk of social instability despite strong resilience of the population.

Brazzaville, the political capital on the Congo River, brings together the French embassy, administrations and international organisations. Pointe-Noire is the country’s second city, with a French consulate general. Dolisie and Nkayi complete the list of main towns indicated by France Diplomatie. 58% of the population lives in Brazzaville or Pointe-Noire.

In Brazzaville, insecurity is low, notably in the central districts where most foreigners live; vigilance is recommended at night and in outlying districts. In Pointe-Noire, crime in the city centre is limited but you must remain vigilant; walks on the beach beyond the old wharf, to the south, are discouraged at any hour because of groups of delinquents, and the road to Dolisie crosses the Mayombe massif, dangerous in rainy weather.

The Pool department and its surroundings are under heightened vigilance: an area of armed unrest since the 1990s, stabilised since a ceasefire in December 2017, with a disarmament process not completed; intercity travel there is done in daytime, in convoy.

The currency is the CFA franc; France Diplomatie indicates 1 euro for 656 CFA francs. Currency exchange is prohibited outside traditional exchange offices and cash machines. GDP per capita remains modest; inflation appears in the “Economic indicators” block.

No official average rent was read for this guide; housing budgets are compared on the spot with several landlords, with checks on neighbourhood safety, water, electricity and road access in the rainy season.

Imports go through an approved freight forwarder; for a new passenger car, customs duties are 48 to 53%, and for a used vehicle they are calculated on the Argus value, which weighs on the budget of a move.

The visa is mandatory before departure, except for holders of a diplomatic passport; no visa is issued on arrival. The application is filed and paid for online only (e-visa); the visa is valid for 15 to 91 days, with a processing time of 7 days under the normal procedure and 3 days under the express procedure. An accommodation certificate issued by a district town hall in Congo, or a paid hotel reservation, is mandatory and must be presented on entry; the vaccination record (yellow fever) may be checked.

For a stay of more than 91 days, France Diplomatie indicates for business travellers that Congo does not issue a three-month visa on the spot: renewal after three months costs about 162 euros for one year (106,000 FCFA) and about 315 euros for two years (206,000 FCFA). Detailed residence rules should be requested from the Embassy of Congo in Paris and the Congolese authorities.

French nationals are invited to register on the register of French nationals living abroad for a stay of more than six months, with the French embassy in Brazzaville or the consulate general in Pointe-Noire. In town, you must carry a photocopy of the passport with the visa page; on intercity travel, the original is required.

The Lycée international français Saint-Exupéry in Brazzaville is presented by the embassy services as an establishment under Congolese law associated by agreement with the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE); its school project aims at modernising equipment, building new premises and pedagogical innovation. Levels, enrolment and school fees do not appear on the page consulted: the school’s website and the AEFE directory specify them.

For Pointe-Noire and the other towns, the AEFE directory and the embassy make it possible to check whether establishments of the French education network exist. Enrolments are prepared several months in advance, notably for mid-year entries.

Children’s health requires up-to-date vaccinations and malaria prevention; see children’s cover abroad and expatriate family insurance.

France Diplomatie advises against, except for an imperative reason, a 30 km strip along the northern border with the Central African Republic and a 10 km strip along the southern borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cabinda (Angola); it also reports a potential risk linked to trafficking on the other land borders, where crossing by inadvertence can lead to arrest for lack of a visa for the country concerned.

Petty and medium crime (thefts with or without violence, burglaries, armed assaults) mainly concerns Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, with a periodic upsurge during the end-of-year festivities. The recommendations: avoid large sums of money and visible objects in vehicles, do not walk at night in outlying districts, do not resist in a theft. Law enforcement roadblocks may be set up in times of tension, notably during election periods; you must comply with their orders and stay away from gatherings.

On legislation, it is prohibited to photograph sensitive sites (ports, bridges, roads, checkpoints, official buildings); the use of drones is tightly controlled; buying ivory is prohibited; duties are due on buying antiques or traditional objects and proof of their payment is required on departure.

The number of accidents is very high and continually rising; emergency services are limited in the capital and large towns and non-existent outside. The emergency police number is 117. Only National Road 1 (Brazzaville-Pointe-Noire) and National Road 2 (Brazzaville-Ouesso) are passable; the state of the roads deteriorates during the main rainy season (October to December) and the short season (March to May). The train between Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville is strongly discouraged until rehabilitation work is complete.

Air France flies directly to Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire; other airlines offer stopovers in Istanbul, Douala, Addis Ababa or Casablanca. All local airlines registered in Congo are banned from operating in the European Union. Mobile phones depend on two operators, MTN and Airtel, and fibre optic is offered to individuals.

For health cover, see expat health insurance, the healthcare system in Congo and reimbursements in Congo.