Citizens of most countries require a visa to enter Congo Republic. The official visa portal is operated through the Directorate General of Documentation and Immigration at www.evisa.gouv.cg. Business and tourist visas can be obtained as e-visas, with processing taking seven to ten working days under standard procedure. Yellow fever vaccination is mandatory for entry, and border officials request the International Certificate of Vaccination at Brazzaville Maya-Maya Airport and Pointe-Noire Agostinho Neto Airport. France maintains visa-free entry for Congolese nationals under reciprocal agreements established in 1960, but this does not extend to French nationals entering Congo Republic, who still require visas. The visa on arrival option was discontinued in 2019. Travelers entering from Democratic Republic of Congo via boat across the Congo River at Brazzaville Beach face additional documentation checks at river immigration posts.
Congo Republic uses the Central African CFA franc, abbreviated XAF. The currency is issued by the Bank of Central African States headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and shared with five other member states. The exchange rate is fixed to the euro at 655.957 XAF per one euro, established by the French Treasury in 1999 when the euro replaced the French franc. ATMs exist in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire but rarely accept international cards. La Congolaise de Banque and BGFI Bank maintain ATM networks that occasionally process Visa transactions, but outages lasting days occur regularly. Cash in euros is the practical standard. Exchange offices operate on Avenue Amilcar Cabral in Brazzaville and Rue Félix Tchicaya in Pointe-Noire. Banks exchange US dollars at rates approximately five percent below official rates. Credit cards are accepted at Hotel Mikhael in Brazzaville and Azur Hotel in Pointe-Noire, but elsewhere cash transactions dominate. The airport exchange booth at Maya-Maya Airport charges a four percent commission. Travelers carrying more than one million XAF, roughly 1,500 euros, must declare at customs.
Mobile coverage reaches Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Dolisie, and towns along National Route 1 connecting these cities. MTN Congo and Airtel provide prepaid SIM cards sold at airport kiosks and street vendors. SIM card registration requires a passport photocopy. A SIM card costs 1,000 XAF, and one gigabyte of data costs approximately 2,500 XAF. Coverage drops entirely between Owando and Ouesso, a span of 320 kilometers through Sangha Department. Internet cafes operate on Avenue Foch in Brazzaville near the Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Mausoleum, charging 500 XAF per hour. Hotel wifi functions inconsistently. The government restricted internet access during the 2016 presidential election and again in March 2022 during political demonstrations in Brazzaville. International calls to France from MTN cost 400 XAF per minute. Fixed-line service through Congo Telecom exists in government offices but is not accessible to casual travelers.
Brazzaville General Hospital, known locally as CHU de Brazzaville, is the capital's main public facility, located on Avenue de la Paix. Private clinics include Clinique Les Manguiers on Rue Félix Eboué and Centre Médical de la Communauté Hellenique, which maintain French-trained doctors. Pointe-Noire has Clinique Les Acacias and the Base Hospital, operated by oil company Total. Malaria is endemic year-round below 1,000 meters elevation. Antimalarial prophylaxis is standard for all visits. The Center for Disease Control confirmed Congo Republic as endemic for both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Cholera outbreaks occurred in Brazzaville in December 2019 and again in May 2023, linked to water supply contamination in the Ouenzé district. Pharmacies stock antibiotics without prescription. Travel insurance with medical evacuation to South Africa costs between 80 and 150 euros for two-week coverage through providers like APRIL International Expat.