Cape Verde Visa and Entry Requirements

The short version

You can enter Cape Verde as a visitor for up to 30 days without a visa. What you must do instead is complete an online pre-registration and pay the airport security fee on the official platform before you travel.

Why this catches people out

It catches people out precisely because searching for a Cape Verde visa returns nothing useful. There is no tourist visa to apply for, so a traveler concludes there is nothing to do and stops looking. The pre-registration is a different thing with a different name, and it is the step that matters.

⚠ Since 1 July 2026, if you have not completed the pre-registration, or cannot show proof that you did, you pay double the fee at border control. That is already in force. It is not a future change to plan around.

Your passport

Your passport must have an expiry date at least 6 months after the date you arrive. This is the most common reason a traveler is turned back at check-in anywhere, and it is worth checking today rather than the week before you fly, because a renewal is not a same-week job.

Check with your travel provider that your passport and other documents meet the requirements for your own nationality. The 30-day rule above is the position for visitors traveling on a full British citizen passport; other nationalities differ, and the official platform is where to confirm.

Vaccination certificates

There is no yellow fever certificate requirement for ordinary arrivals from Europe or North America, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is explicit that the yellow fever vaccine is not recommended for this destination. If you are arriving after time in a country where yellow fever is present, the rules are different and depend on where you have been rather than on your nationality.

Staying longer than 30 days

Thirty days covers almost every holiday and most island-hopping itineraries. If you are planning longer, or traveling for any purpose other than tourism, that is a different set of rules and one to settle before you book rather than after you arrive.

What we do about it

We complete the pre-registration as part of the booking rather than leaving it on your list, and we check passport validity at the point we take the booking rather than at the airport. See travel safety for the insurance position, which is the other thing to settle before you fly.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Cape Verde entry requirements: 30 days without a visa, the online pre-registration and airport security fee, and the doubled fee from 1 July 2026. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Cape Verde travel advice: the FCDO restricts no part of the country, and Global Health Insurance Cards are not accepted. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travelers’ Health, Cape Verde: the yellow fever vaccine is not recommended for this destination. Accessed 14 September 2026.