Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE)

Legal powers

Law N°57/2018 of 13/08/2018 on immigration and emigration defines the Directorate General and its powers. It issues and manages travel documents under Article 16 ². It can refuse or cancel visas and residence permits and may require health certificates or proof of financial means ².

Article 14 gives it discretion to exempt people from entry formalities, to allow transit without a valid travel document for up to 72 hours and to reduce administrative fines on an exceptional basis ². Under Article 31 immigration officers have criminal investigation powers when they enforce the law ².

Laws DGIE publishes

The DGIE laws page lists the instruments it applies ¹.

• Law N°57/2018 of 13/08/2018 on immigration and emigration in Rwanda ¹
• Ministerial Order N°06/01 of 29/05/2019 relating to immigration and emigration ¹
• Organic Law N° 002/2021.OL of 16/07/2021 relating to Rwandan nationality ¹
• Presidential Order N° 129/01 of 16/12/2020 relating to border posts and the border posts steering committee ¹
• Law N° 042/2024 of 19/04/2024 governing refugees and applicants for refugee status ¹
• Law N° 006/2024 of 19/01/2024 governing advance passenger information and passenger name record data ¹
• Ministerial Order No 001/01 of 10/05/2024 on API and PNR data elements and transmission times ¹

Visas and passports

DGIE says nationals of all countries can get a visa on arrival at Kigali International Airport and all land borders from 1 January 2018 ⁸. Applicants can apply through Irembo or at a Rwandan mission ⁸.

DGIE began issuing the East African e-Passport in June 2019, as reported by Hudson Kuteesa in The New Times on 21 February 2022 ⁵. From that date Rwandans abroad could apply for national ID cards and e-Passports through Irembo, with biometric data captured at the nearest embassy ⁵. DGIE urged citizens to apply before machine readable passports were phased out on 27 June 2022 ⁵.

Borders and airport clearance

DGIE lists 19 land border posts, two international airports, Kamembe local airport and two ports as its entry points ⁴. It issues border passes or jetons to residents near the border for daily cross-border activities ⁴.

In February 2012 DGIE installed two electronic gates in the arrival hall of Kigali International Airport, as reported by Edwin Musoni in The New Times ⁶. The Automated Passenger Clearance System let Rwandan nationals scan a passport to open the first gate and use fingerprint recognition at the second ⁶. The report gave about 12 seconds per passenger against 45 to 60 seconds for the standard procedure ⁶. This page has not confirmed whether the gates are in use in 2026.

Passenger data and service charter

Law N° 006/2024 says advance passenger information and passenger name record data go to a passenger information system processed by the Directorate General, alone or with a State organ ⁷. Carriers by air, road, rail and water must transmit the data ⁷.

The DGIE clients charter states a mission to create a secure and enabling environment for trade, investment, tourism and skills development ³. It lists client rights to courteous and prompt service, to complain to higher authorities and to appeal administrative decisions ³. The charter page gives no fees or processing times ³.