Tiny Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB) may not merit an entire post, but there is a lot of confusion online about the visa on arrival process that we would like to clear up. While there is an expensive loophole that allows for a visa on arrival at certain land borders, officially the VOA is only available at the airport.

While we’re at it, we will also describe the airport layout and let you know about taxis to town, ATM access and connecting flight procedures as of December 2023.

Who flies to the Bissau airport (OXB)?

Guinea-Bissau is served by several African and European carriers, but you will not be spoiled for choice. If you are not already on the continent, you essentially have two choices: Royal Air Maroc and Tap Portugal.

If you are already in the region, there are flights from Dakar, Cape Verde, Abidjan and Conakry.

It turns out a small, underdeveloped lusophone country in a region of francophone and anglophone countries does not have much in the way of air traffic.

Getting your Guinea-Bissau Visa On Arrival

As you enter the airport from the plane, you will be given a small arrivals form to complete. Pack a pen. Then you will proceed to the immigration windows in front. They will have a look at your passport and once they determine that you need a visa, they will pass you on to someone else who will take you off to complete the formalities.

The visa costs $120 USD or 85 euros. You cannot pay with a card — it has to be cash. They also accept the CFA equivalent if you happen to be traveling from another country in West Africa that uses the CFA.

It is of course much cheaper to get the visa from an embassy at one of the neighboring countries. In Ziguinchor, for example, the visa will cost you 25,000 CFA (about 42 dollars).

Getting from the airport to the city of Bissau

The baggage hall is small and it won’t take long before you find yourself outside. There may be one last police/immigration check before you hit the car park. They will typically just want to see your passport and double check the entry stamp and the visa.

Once outside, walk across the street to the taxi stand. Taxis in Bissau are bright blue and they are typically old Mercedes. You can expect to pay 10 euro to get just about anywhere in Bissau from the airport. If you are in a negotiating mood and you have some CFA on hand, you can likely get the price down to 5000 CFA (roughly 7.6 euro. Yes, I know, big savings).

Connecting flights

Not the likeliest airport for connections, but if you did happen to have some bizarre itinerary wherein you traveled on two different airlines and went via Bissau to, I don’t know, Lisbon, there is not a whole lot of space to spread out and get comfortable. But from what we have heard, you can stay in the airport without having to get a visa. Has anyone tried this recently?

Getting Money

There are both money changers and ATMs at the airport. As far as the better exchange rate, ATMs will be the clear winner, but keep in mind whether or not you have steep card fees for withdrawals. Also keep in mind that the CFA is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655, but you are unlikely to ever see this rate with a money changer.