Rwanda introduces a new visa regime!

Rwanda's Directorate of Immigration and Emigration has updated the country's existing visa regime. As of today, citizens of countries members to the African Union, the Commonwealth and La Francophonie get visa upon arrival and are waived visa fees for a stay of 30 days.
Citizens of the East African Community (EAC) member states - Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan - get a pass/entry visa to stay for a period of six month in Rwanda. 
Citizens of Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, DR Congo, The Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Haiti, Mauritius, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Singapore and Qatar are granted 90 day visa free of charge. 
For more information regarding the new visa regime in Rwanda, see the document below or click here.

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Rwanda to suspend visa fees for citizens of member states of the Commonwealth, the Francophonie & the African Union!

The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, announced in a speech about Rwanda's transformation over the past 25 years at the International School for Government at King’s College in London, that the East African country is "soon considering exempting citizens of the Commonwealth, as well as the African Union and the Francophonie, from paying visa fees when entering Rwanda" [src.]. Rwanda is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (53 member states) since 2009 and a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (54 full member states) since 1970. As a member of the United Nations since 1962, Rwanda is also a member of the African Union (55 member states) since it was founded in 2002. We'll keep you posted!

South Africa: Durban will not host the Commonwealth Games in 2022!

Durban in South Africa has lost the rights to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022. According to a statement by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), a "detailed review has concluded that there is a significant departure from the undertakings provided in Durban's bid and as a result a number of key obligations and commitments in areas such as governance, venues, funding and risk management/assurance have not been met under the revised proposition."
Reuters reports that the English cities of Birmingham and Liverpool have expressed interest to replace Durban as the host city of the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Durban to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games! >>

Durban to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games!

Durban in South Africa was awarded the rights to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly meeting in Auckland (New Zealand) on 02 September 2015. The coastal city was the only bidder for the multi-sports event after Edmonton (Canada) withdrew from contention in February 2015. The 2022 Commonwealth Games will begin on 18 July 2022 (Nelson Mandela's 104th birthday) and finish on 30 July 2022. Durban is the first African city to be awarded the four-yearly multi-sports event. Congrats Durban!

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and has taken place every four years since then (except for 1942 & 1946 due to WWII). The Commonwealth Games was last held in 2014 in Glasgow (Scotland), with the Gold Coast (Australia) hosting the 2018 event.