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EAC Visa-Free Entry

BurundiFree movement

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Burundi Read the five questions ↓

Which citizenship, status or regional agreement creates the person's right to move/reside?

Citizenship of an East African Community member state, under the EAC Common Market Protocol: citizens of the East African Community receive a special transit authorisation on Burundian territory free of charge and are exempt from certain visas in accordance with the Protocol on the Common Market of the East African Community.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Art 34 says 'certains visas' without listing which visas the exemption covers.
  • The exemption from the entry visa itself is stated separately in Art 7(3), which is outside this citation.
  • chars 181210-181866
    Les citoyens de la Communauté Est Africaine Abava mw’lshirahamwe ry’ibihugu vya Afirika bénéficient gratuitement d’une autorisation spéciale de yo mu Buseruko bararonswa ataco barishe transit sur le territoire burundais et sont exemptés de uruhusha rudasanzwe rwo kuruhukira mu certains visas conformément au Protocole sur le Marché Burundi baja mu kindi gihugu kandi hari impusha commun de la Communauté Est Africaine. zimwe zimwe batarinda gusabwa hisunzwe Amasezerano yerekeye lsoko rusangi ry’akarere ka Afrika y’Ubuseruko.

Under which circumstances can the person reside: worker, self-employed, student, jobseeker, self-funded person or another recognised basis?

Citizens of the East African Community whose documents are in order with national laws are authorised as of right to stay in Burundi, with no economic basis to prove.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Art 29 sets no categories of worker, self-employed person, student, jobseeker or self-funded person; the only condition it states is that the documents be in order with national law.
  • It does not say which documents make a stay 'en ordre', nor how long the stay of right runs.
  • chars 175919-176858
    Sont de plein droit autorisés à séjourner au Burundi: Abarekuriwe kuba mu Burundi ni aba bakurikira 1° les citoyens de la Communauté Est Africaine ayant 1° Abaturuka mu bihugu bigize lshirahamwe des documents en ordre avec les lois nationales ; ry’ibihugu vya Afirika yo mu Buseruko bafise inzandiko zemewe n’amategeko y’ibihugu vyabo; 2° l’étranger séjournant au Burundi dans le cadre d’un 2°Umunyamahanga aba mu Burundi hisunzwe traité ou d’une convention internationale ; amasezerano mpuzamakungu 3° le conjoint et les légalement dépendants d’un étranger 3°Uwubakanye n’umunyamahanga afise autorisé à séjourner au Burundi. uruhusha rwo kuba mu Burundi n’abo abeshejeho hisunzwe amategeko.

What entry, registration or residence-document formalities remain?

Every foreigner must show his foreigner card, or his travel document bearing the residence visa, whenever a competent authority requires it; for citizens of the East African Community what is required is a valid travel document or a national identity card.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Art 52 covers the document to be produced on demand; the entry formality of passing through a border post and registering is in Art 5(1), outside this citation.
  • No separate residence-registration or residence-permit step is stated for EAC citizens.
  • chars 209286-210250
    Tout étranger est tenu d’exhiber sa carte pour étranger Umunyamahanga wese ategerezwa kwerekana ou son document de voyage contenant le visa de séjour ikarata yiwe yerekana ko ari umunyamahanga chaque fois qu’il en est requis par une autorité habilitée. canke urwandiko rwiwe rw’inzira ruriko uruhusha rw’ugucumbika mu Burundi igihe cose abisabwe n’umutegetsi abifitiye ububasha. Pour les citoyens de la Communauté Est Africaine, un Ku baturuka mu gihugu kimwe mu bigize document de voyage valide ou une carte nationale lshirahamwe ry’ibihugu vya Afirika yo mu d’identité est requis. Buseruko, urwandiko rw’inzira rutarata igihe canke ikarata karangamuntu yo mu gihugu aturukamwo irasabwa

Which non-member-country family members can accompany or join, and what broad rights do they receive?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm which non-member family members can join and their rights.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Art 29(3) authorises 'le conjoint et les légalement dépendants d'un étranger autorisé à séjourner au Burundi' to stay of right, but Art 4 defines 'étranger' as a person having neither Burundian nationality nor the status of citizen of an EAC member state, so that provision does not reach the family of an EAC citizen. Art 7(2) covers persons and family members holding permanent-resident status, which Art 4 again defines for 'l'étranger'. Searched Arts 4, 5, 7, 29-36 and 52: Loi n°1/25 contains no provision on third-country family members of EAC citizens.

When do permanent/long-term rights arise and what continuity, absence or retention conditions matter?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm when permanent rights arise and the continuity or absence rules.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Loi n°1/25 gives EAC citizens a stay of right (Art 29(1)) and visa exemptions (Arts 7(3) and 34) but fixes no qualifying period, continuity rule, absence tolerance or retention condition for any permanent right. The law's 'résident permanent' (Art 4, and Arts 7(2), 25(1), 32) is defined for 'l'étranger', which by Art 4 excludes EAC citizens, and it turns on usefulness to Burundi assessed by the CCER rather than on length of residence. Searched Arts 4, 7, 24-37.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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