Venue & Travel

Conference Venue

The International Conference of Young Scientists, from 6-8 June, will be held at the Marriott hotel in the centre of Kigali. Participation is open to invited, registered participants. Registration for external guests will be opened by March 2023.

Accommodation

The Local Organising Committee has reserved a discounted contingency of rooms in the following hotels:

Please contact the GYA Office () if you would like to have further recommendations for accommodation near the event venue.

Visa

Nationals of all countries receive visa on arrival (valid for at least 30 days) at Kigali International Airport and all land borders, without prior application. You can also apply online beforehand through the Rwandan governmental service portal IremboGov, so that everything is set for your visit. Note however, that the processing time of an online visa is around 7 days and that a VISA or MasterCard is required for payment.

We recommend you to apply for a conference visa. If you plan to combine the AGM with an extended vacation, a holiday visa might be the better option. For both visa types the only document required during online application is a copy of your passport‘s biodata page. However, an evidence that you have sufficient funds to cover the costs of your stay (e.g. return ticket, hotel reservation) may be requested online or at the entry point. The GYA Office will provide you with a personalised invitation letter after you registered for the GYA AGM and International Conference of Young Scientists. Please present this letter to the Rwandan officials if asked about the reason for your stay.

The fee for both the conference and the holiday visa is 50 USD (on arrival and online likewise). For citizens of a number of countries (including African Union, Common Wealth, La francophonie and East African Community) Rwanda waives the visa fee. If you are granted travel co-funding (information will follow) by the GYA, you can include visa fees in your reimbursement request.

Country-specific visa information can be found on the website of the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration: https://www.migration.gov.rw/visa. A detailed ‘How to’ for the online visa application is available here.

Feel free to contact Sandra at the GYA Office if you have any questions concerning visa: .

Vaccination

The WHO advises to vaccinate against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, cholera, rabies, meningitis and tetanus before visiting Rwanda.

Furthermore, vaccination against yellow fever is required if you arrive from a country where yellow fever is endemic or where there is an active yellow fever outbreak.

Do consider that Malaria is endemic in Rwanda. Antimalarials are the best protection against infection. Be sure to use mosquito repellents as a second barrier against the disease. Please check your local information on travelling to Rwanda.

A covid-19 vaccination or test is not required when entering Rwanda (as of 12 January 2022, latest information here). Face masks are no longer mandatory, but their use is encouraged in public indoor settings.

Traveling in Rwanda

The 2023 AGM host country, Rwanda, is known as ’The Land of a Thousand Hills’ and features stunning scenery and warm and friendly people. Kigali is located roughly in the center of the country and has a growing reputation in the region for safety, security, reasonable air access, and excellent accommodation facilities.

Find out more about the host country here. 

See the AGM Tickers for more Rwanda travel information.