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'''Visa instructions'''
For inquiries about visa application status, please contact the visa office from Monday to Thursday from 9:00 to 11:00 am
'''Visa requirements'''
1. Remember to submit your passport when you apply for a visa and please attach two recent passport pictures (glued or stapled) to the two forms, one on each form. The passport must be valid at least 06 months after the date of entry to Algeria.
2. A non-refundable money-order (individual) made payable to the order of the Embassy of Algeria in the amount of $100.00 for US citizens. All other nationals must check with the Visa Section for the applicable requirements and fees.
3. Business Visa applicants must include a letter on official letterhead from their employer stating the purpose of their trip, and the full names and addresses of their contacts in Algeria. Applicants must submit with their application an invitation letter from the Algerian company they intend to visit.
4. Work Visa applicants must submit with their visa application an employment authorization delivered by the Algerian Ministry of Labor. The Embassy will not accept any authorization faxed or mailed separately.
5. Tourism Visa applicants must submit an itinerary of their airline travel and a confirmed Hotel reservation in Algeria.
6. Family / Guest Visa: Applicants must provide with their application an invitation from their host in Algeria and notarized at the city hall of the place of residence of the Algerian host. The Embassy will not accept invitations faxed or sent separately.
Spouses of Algerian Citizens should submit a copy of the valid Consulate Registration Card of their spouse and a sponsorship letter signed by the Algerian spouse.
Return of Passports: Applicants may pick up their passports at the Embassy or send a prepaid self-addressed envelope with an express US postal service, including an air bill naming them as the sender and receiver of the mail. The Embassy is not responsible for the lost or delays of document by the post office or other visa services.
'''Important:'''
- Complete documentation is required. Any incomplete documentation may extend the processing time or returned to applicant at cost. - Processing of an application may be delayed, if prior agreement by Algerian authorities is required. Furthermore, the Embassy reserves the right to request additional documentation from any applicant. It is not the responsibility of the Embassy if there is any delay in the processing of the visa application. - Applicants should make travel arrangements to Algeria based on the date of entry indicated on their visa. Applicants should not arrive in Algeria before that date; they will not be allowed to enter. In case of change in travel plans, applicants must obtain a new visa.
Spain: Barcelona, Madrid & Alicante
France: All major cities
Italy: Rome & Milan
UK: London Heathrow [http://www.uknetguide.co.uk/Travel/Flight_Search/da-LHR/tc-Algeria/], Gatwick [http://www.uknetguide.co.uk/Travel/Flight_Search/da-LGW/tc-Algeria/].
Germany: Frankfurt, Berlin.
Switzerland: Geneva, Basel.
Belgium: Brussels.
Canada: Montreal.
Turkey: Istanbul.
Russia: Moscow.
United Arab Emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman.
Morocco: Casablanca.
Tunisia: Tunis.
Lebanon: Beirut.
Qatar: Doha.
Egypt: Cairo.
You can reach Algeria by train from Tunisia, although you will have to change the train at the border post. Trains are reasonable, but less comfortable than in Europe. All border points with Morocco are currently closed.
From/to Spain:
From/to France:
From/to Italy:
Travel on camels in the Sahara desert. Locations:
French, the colonial language, is still widely spoken, especially in urban areas.<br>
Algeria's Berber (Tamazigh) populations hold strongly to their own languages.
Arabic-sabah al khair - means "Good morning"; Arabic-ahlan/Marhaba - means Hello; Beber-Azul - also means Hello.
Note: Generally, only the young generations in Algeria understand English, but most people are able to communicate in French.
Dates
Ghardaia Carpets
Kabyl jewelry and pottery
Touareg jewelry
Touareg paintings
Taguella (bread of sand, a nomad specialty)
Couscous (steamed semolina with a red or white sauce containing meat and/or potatoes, carrots, courgette, and chick peas)
Buseluf (stew of lambs head & feet with courgette & chick peas) Dowara (stew of stomach and intestines with courgette & chick peas)
Chorba (a meaty soup)
Rechta (hand made spaghetti, usually served with a clear chicken broth, potatoes & chick peas)
Chakchouka (normally, it has green peppers, onions and tomatoes; egg may be added)
Mechoui (charcoal grilled chicken, fish, or other meat)
Algerian pizza
Tajine (stew)
Mediterranean juices (grenadine, orange); very sweet green tea, and strong coffee.
Qalb El Louz (dessert containing almonds)
Baklawa (almond cakes drenched in honey)
Ktayef (a kind of baked vermicelli, filled with almonds and drenched in sugar, syrup, and honey)
Algeria produces a selection of wine (not in big volume in more) and also beer. However, Algeria is a Muslim country, and you do not find alcohol sold everywhere, you have to know where to find it. Wine and alcoholic drinks are sold in the few bar restaurants in the big cities, high end hotels, and night clubs. Some bar restaurants can be found in nice parks, so if you are in a nice wooded park, look for the restaurants. The fast food restaurants open and affordable to the public do not sell beer, and the coffee shops do not sell alcohol. If you visit Algiers or coastal cities, there are fish restaurants in almost every fishing port, the fishing is traditional and the fish sold is very fresh; usually, these restaurants sell alcohol but you have to ask (do not expect to see it, some times it is on the menu, some times not). Finally, you can buy your own bottle of Algerian wine to take home in discrete shops that sell alcoholic drinks. It is better to buy it at the Algiers airport. In smaller towns, buying alcohol can be challenging; you usually find them at the edge of the towns in sketchy areas and the conditions in which the alcohol was kept is sometimes questionable. Some Muslims drink but they consider it a sin. It is in private but socially. If some one invites you into his home and does not offer alcohol, he expects you not to be drunk or smell alcohol, and does not expect you to bring your own bottle or even discuss drinking alcohol in front of his wife and kids.
Mosquitoes are also a problem in Algeria, but they are just a nuisance, as malaria is not common. In urban areas, city-wide sprayings against mosquitoes are periodically carried on.
Always use sun protection when traveling in Algeria.
Also, given the ongoing political strife, talking politics is not advisable.