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BORDER CROSSING AND SELF DRIVE TRAVEL IN MOZAMBIQUE MADE EASY – A STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE


General information

Visas, Passports and Travel documentation.

  • You will require a valid passport which is valid for at least six months after the date of your return to South Africa.
  • You will require a valid driving license.
  • Visas are not required for South African nationals for stays of less than 30 days.
  • Visitors from other countries and South Africans bearing a foreign passport should arrange for a travel Visa prior to  your departure.There is a Home Affairs office in Komatipoort should you encounter any problems at the border.
  • Make certified colour copies of your Passport, Drivers license, ID Document and vehicle registration papers. It is a    good idea to laminate these copies. (Keep these copies in a separate location to your original documents) If any of   your original documents are lost or stolen during your stay in Mozambique you can visit the nearest police station or immigration office, present your certified copies, make a declaration of loss or theft and obtain a letter from the official.This will ensure an easy passage through customs on departure and through police checkpoints whilst travelling in Mozambique.
  • If your vehicle is subject to a financial lease/hire purchase or loan agreement you will require a letter of authority from the financial institution giving you authority to take the vehicle across the border into a neighboring country.
  • If the vehicle that you are driving is not yours you will require a letter of authority from the registered owner giving you permission to be in possession of the vehicle and authorizing cross border travel
  • If you are towing you will require two yellow and blue Mozambican warning triangles.  The warning triangles are available at most outdoor shops, Midas retail outlets and from your local AA office. Place the triangles on the front right of your vehicle and on the back right of your trailer. You are also required to have a set of emergency triangles in your vehicle, a reflective safety vest and a car fire extinguisher.
  • Third party insurance is compulsory when embarking on a self-drive trip in Mozambique. Third party insurance can be obtained prior to your departure from most of the major insurance companies. Outdoor Warehouse retail stores in South Africa sell the Hollard Insurance product available at their retail outlets nationwide. The current cost of this insurance is R 150.00 per vehicle and R80.00 for a trailer.  When taking out this insurance you will require your Passport and your Vehicle and trailer registration particulars. (Registration Number., VIN  and Engine Number)

Import duty, Goods temporarily imported in Mozambique.

  • You may make a declaration on the form provided to the effect that you have nothing to declare in excess of your personal goods, personal effects and that you have no commercial goods, firearms or prohibited and restricted items.
  • If you are importing any goods into Mozambique make a full declaration and present your original invoices to the customs official.
  • You will be required to complete a DA65 Form (often referred to as a TIP – Temporary import permit) at the customs desk for all goods that you are temporarily importing into Mozambique. Typically you would declare the following items.

  • Digital cameras, lenses and accessories
  • Video cameras and accessories.
  • GPS equipment (Garmin, TomTom, etc.)
  • Laptops and accessories
  • Portable televisions
  • I-Pod docking station, I-Pod and accessories.
  • Hi-Fi’s, Radios, Music System
  • Microwave (if camping)
  • Camping equipment
  • Fishing rods, tackle & equipment
  • Paddle-skis, Kayaks, Canoes.
  • Boats
  • Bicycles
  • Quads
  • Motorcycles
  • Jet-skis
  • Yachts
  • Generators
  • Car Freezer/Fridge
  • Desktop PC, Screen, keyboard and Printers
  • Camping stoves, gas braais.
  • DSTV decoder
  • Portable DVD player
  • Portable compressor.
  • Ice maker

Remember that if you have declared an item for temporary import you must bring that item back with you when you exit Mozambique. If the customs officials discover that an item is not present you will either have to return to fetch the item or customs will declare the item imported and you will have to pay a fine and the import duty on the item before you leave the country. Your passport will be retained until these requirements have been met.
Remember that your vehicle contents and baggage may be subject to an inspection regardless of the type of declaration that you have made. In general all vehicles and trailers have to be inspected by a customs official on the Mozambican side in order to obtain a signature on your gate pass. This gate pass will be checked by the gate guard to ensure that firstly you have a customs stamp on it and secondly that you have a customs inspector’s signature on it prior to allowing you access into Mozambique.

Goods for which a permit or license is required:

  • Fire arms, explosives and fireworks.
  • Animals, hides, skins, animal products and animal parts.
  • Gold, Silver, Platinum in coins, bars or ingots.
  • Plants, roots, tubers and medicines.

Items which are prohibited or restricted may include the following:
  • Narcotic drugs
  • Firearms
  • Explosives
  • Pornographic materials and media
  • Counterfeit goods
  • Plant materials
  • Meat products (You may take your own meat with you for personal consumption, make sure that it is frozen and properly sealed or vacuum packed.)

Travelers import Allowances

Individual duty free allowances are allowed monthly in respect of goods imported into Mozambique for your personal          and family consumption only.

  • Alcoholic beverages -1 Liter of spirits per person. 2.25 liters of wine (3 standard bottles).
  • Tobacco products – 200 Cigarettes or 100 Cigarillos or 50 Cigars.
  • Perfumes – 50ml of perfume or 250ml of Eau de Toilette.
  • Pharmaceutical products – Quantity considered reasonable and appropriate for personal consumption or as               prescribed by a registered medical practitioner.

No beer is allowed to be imported into Mozambique. The local beer is excellent and the famous 2M (Dois M), Laurentina and Manhica brands are readily available. Other imported brands such as Castle, Amstel, Windhoek, Millers, Heineken and Peroni can be obtained at most bottle stores, fuel station convenience stores and supermarkets.

Foreign Currency and Cash arrangements

When entering Mozambique you need not declare up to US$ 5,000.00 or the equivalent, in cash or travelers cheques. Above this limit you are required to make a declaration to the customs officials of Mozambique (Alfandegas)
Inform yourself as to what is the current exchange rate prior to you departure, knowledge is power!
Here is a useful internet link http://www.clubofmozambique.com/solutions1/news.php , scroll down the page and look in the lower left margin for the current exchange rate table.

Arrange with your bank that you have sufficient facility on your credit cards, debit cards or travel cards to cover all your travel expenditure. Local currency can be drawn at most ATM’s in Mozambique bearing the VISA, MasterCard or Maestro logos. Some ATM’s restrict the amount of cash that can be withdrawn per transaction. Ensure that you have set an adequate daily withdrawal limit on your cards with your domicile bank prior to your departure. Remember your PIN codes.
It is always safer to obtain cash from an ATM, a registered money changer or a commercial bank. Avoid using the touts at the border post. These cash vendors work in pairs, offer you an attractive rate (normally a couple of points above the going rate) and once the transaction is underway have an amazing repertoire of techniques designed to distract you and fleece you of your money. Beware!

The Sasol garage at Komatipoort has a number a lady “Gambios” who offer competitive rates, be prepared to negotiate. Please contact Petonica on +27 82 533 4799 should you wish to use her services.

The Procedure to be followed when crossing the Lebombo Border post (RSA) and Ressano Garcia border post (Mozambique)

After you have left Komatipoort proceed over the Crocodile River bridge and head up the hill to the Lebombo border post. (approximately 4 kms)

THE LEBOMBO BORDER CONTROL POST (South Africa)

As you approach the border post you will see a gate control building in front of you (normally open). Proceed slowly through the gate into the border post. Keep left and drive right up to the border control office building. Park your vehicle as close as you can and have the following documents and items ready.

•Pen
•Passports ( all travelers must report to the passport control officer)
•Vehicle documents ( The information is required to fill in some of the forms)

You may be approached at this point by a tout offering you assistance and promising a speedy passage through the Mozambican border. Do not use these people; they are not official...rather do it yourself.

Step 1

  •   Go directly to the customs desk and obtain the following forms.
  •   Gate pass – Fill in your vehicle particulars and the number of persons in your vehicle. The gate pass must be     stamped by the customs official.

Step 2

Proceed to the passport control desk (immigration) with your gate pass form and your passports.The                           immigration official will require that each person is identified when processing the passports.

  • Ensure that your gate pass is stamped.
  • Ensure that each passport is stamped
  • Check that you have all the documents with you that you brought into the border control office.

Step 3

Leave the Lebombo border post area and drive slowly down the hill exiting the Lebombo border control area and to           the Ressano Garcia border (Mozambique). Remember to hand your gate pass to the police official as you exit South          Africa.

THE RESSANO GARCIA BORDER CONTROL AREA (Mozambique)

Step 1The Mozambican gate pass

  • As you approach the gate between the Lebombo border and Ressano Garcia border slow down and look out for       the gate guard on the Mozambican side. Stop a little short of him so that he may write down your vehicle registration on the gate pass slip and take note of the number of occupants in the car. The guard will hand you the completed gate pass. Be friendly and greet the guard courteously. (Boa dia = Good morning, Boa tarde = Good afternoon and Boa noite = Good evening). Muito obrigado = Thank you very much.


Step 2Entering the border control area

  • Proceed up the hill towards the border control building. The border may be congested but park on the left as close to the passport control building as possible. At this point you will most probably encounter numerous touts hassling you, offering you passport assistance, the opportunity to change money and generally all types of facilitation services.  Ignore all of these offers and courteously decline the services. These guys are persistent and sometimes it feels like mayhem!

Step 3Third party insurance

  • If you have not arranged the compulsory third party insurance you will need to do this first. There are a number of cabins on the left hand side opposite the passport control building where you will find a number of Insurance offices. We recommend using Hollard Insurance (Hollard Seguros – Moçambique). You will need cash and all your travel and vehicle registration documents
  • Current costs – R150.00 per vehicle and R 80.00 for a trailer.


Step 4The passport control office & customs

  • Get all your documents together, have a pen with you and proceed into the passport control office and go directly to the customs/”vehicula” desk. Ask the official for the vehicle import document. The document is a two page form with a piece of carbon paper. A fee of R15.00 is sometimes payable to customs. (Payable in ZAR or Meticais). Fill in this form, (have a look at our example to help you with the portuguese - CLICK HERE) return it to the official who will stamp it, return the top copy to you and he should also stamp your gate pass. Present any other documents to the official if requested to do so.
  • Proceed to the passport control desk (all travellers). .

Check Documents

At this point you should have the following stamped documents with you

  • South African export permit/declaration
  • Mozambican import permit, specifying all items which are being temporarily imported.
  • Third party insurance document
  • Mozambican gate pass/customs slip
  • Passports

Step 5 Leaving the pasport control building

  • As you exit the building you need to locate a customs official (The customs officials wear a dark beret and light blue shirt with a name tag “Alfandegas”). Indicate to the official which is your vehicle. The official is required to inspect your vehicle and trailer before signing your gate pass. This inspection can be cursory or thorough depending on how busy the border is, if you are rude or any number of trivial reasons. Be patient and courteous always.
  • Please ensure that you have declared obvious items like a car fridge, generator, etc. You will be fined and kept waiting, sometimes for hours if the official discovers illegally imported/undeclared goods. After this inspection you may get in your vehicle and proceed to the exit gate.


Step 6Finally – Entering and driving in Mozambique

  • At the Ressano Garcia exit gate you will be stopped by the gate guard. Present to the guard your stamped and signed gate pass/customs slip. After the guard has checked that your gate pass has a  customs stamp on it plus the signature from the inspecting official you will be waved on, through the gate and into Mozambique.
  • Keep to the speed limits and respect the rules of the road. The national road going North (EN1) is the main transit artery.  Everybody uses the road, locals on bicycle and foot, donkey carts, crazy taxi drivers, huge lumber trucks normally with a small herd of goats tethered on top, transafrica busses that crab sideways down the road, animals, vendors and most importantly children.
  • The national road passes through each city, town or village and at each settlement you will be required to slow down firstly to 80km/h then to 60km/h or less as you proceed through the town. The traffic police love to set up speed traps at these locations so beware! You can expect a spot fine of Mtn 1000.00 if you are caught speeding even if you are only 5km/h over the limit.
  • Schools are often located at the outer limits of each town and you will sometimes encounter hundreds of scholars walking along the road from little toddlers to young adults. Kids are unpredictable and often little games are played by the kids as they chat and walk to and from school. Drive very defensively; give the kids a wide berth by moving to the centre of the road when necessary. Hoot repeatedly if you think a group are being distracted by games, laughter or simply being unruly and have not noticed your vehicle approaching. Watch their body language.
  • Be very careful in areas where fruit vendors sell there goods to the truckers. The youngsters are often completely distracted by the exitement of making a sale to a truck driver and often without thinking will complete the sale and dash back to their friends on the other side of the road with no regard to oncoming traffic.
  • Avoid driving at night it is simply dangerous.
  • Drive Safely please. Do not let your holiday begin or end in tragedy!

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

       Keep all your travel documents in an A4 folder/bag in an easily accessible position while you are travelling.
       There are a number of traffic police (white shirts) and police (grey shirt) checkpoints on the National roads and                   around Maputo. You may be stopped and asked to present your travel documents. Be courteous, smile and present           the required documents as requested. Ensure that before you proceed you receive all your documents back.

Please refer to our Morrungulo Bay - Distance and Info schedule for further detailed information as you travel in                 Mozambique towards your holiday destination Morrungulo Bay.

Then it is up to you to Relax, unwind and enjoy!

LINKS ( Click on these links to obtain some of our useful documents in PDF format)






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