GOV.UK
William Gelling OBE
British High Commissioner to Rwanda
British High Commission
Kigali
The British High Commission in Rwanda is responsible for developing and maintaining relations between the UK and Rwanda.
Services for British nationals
Urgent assistance
If you’re in Rwanda and you urgently need consular assistance (eg if you’ve been attacked, arrested or there has been a death), call +250 252 556 000. If you’re in the UK and concerned about a British national in Rwanda, contact us on 020 7008 1500.
Get or renew a passport
The British high commission can’t help with passport enquiries. Contact Her Majesty’s Passport Office if you need help.
If you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel, you may be able to get an emergency travel document
Get an emergency travel document
You can apply for an emergency travel document if you’re abroad and your passport has been lost or stolen, damaged or expired, and you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel. If you are due to travel in the next 24 hours, contact us as soon as possible.
Apply online for an emergency travel document if you:
- are over 16 years old and
- are a British citizen and
- have previously owned a British passport
Contact us to apply for an emergency travel document if you are:
- over 16 years old but have not owned a British passport before or
- not a British citizen or
- applying for a child under 16 years old
Once you have contacted us, you will be advised to make an appointment to apply for an emergency travel document at the British High Commission Kigali.
For information and advice on travelling to Rwanda, see travel advice for Rwanda.
Get a visa
The British high commission can’t help with visa enquiries.
If you’re not a British national, you may need a visa to travel to the UK. Check if you need a UK visa.
If you’re a British national travelling abroad and need to apply for a visa to visit a particular country or check if you need a visa, see the entry requirements on our foreign travel advice for the country you want to visit.
For more information on visas, see UK visas and immigration.
Marriage
We cannot issue certificates of no impediment, affirmations or affidavits of marital status. For information on getting married in Rwanda, see getting married abroad.
Register a birth or death
Find out how to register a birth or register a death that occurred in Rwanda. You can’t register a birth or death at the high commission.
Bereavement support
If the death occurred in Rwanda and you’re still in the country, contact us. If you’re in the UK and hear of the death of a relative from a third party, you should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 1500.
Read our guidance on coping with death abroad.
Support if you’ve been arrested
We’ll do all we can to contact you within 24 hours of being told that you’ve been detained or arrested, and will give you a prisoner pack with information for British prisoners in Rwanda. We cannot get you out of prison, prevent the local authorities from deporting you after your prison sentence, or interfere in criminal or civil court proceedings.
Notarial and documentary services
For legal reasons, we’re unable to carry out notarial acts in Commonwealth countries. This includes certifying documents as true copies of originals, administering oaths or taking affidavits. For these or other notarial acts, you should contact a local notary.
Legalisation services
British High Commission Kigali does not provide legalisation services.
Ask the UK government to get a UK document legalised (certified as genuine).
Local service providers
Use our lists of local suppliers and services if you need help in Rwanda. Please note that inclusion in these lists does not constitute official endorsement by the British high commission or the UK government.
How else we can help
In addition to the services listed above we can also:
- provide information about transferring funds
- provide appropriate help if you have suffered rape or serious assault, are a victim of other crime, or are in hospital
- help people with mental illness
- offer support and help in a range of other cases, such as child abductions, missing peopleand kidnapping
- contact family or friends for you if you want
- make special arrangements in cases of terrorism, civil disturbances or natural disasters or other crises abroad
For more information on the services we can provide, see Support for British nationals abroad: A guide.
For general information on living in or planning to live in Rwanda, see living in Rwanda
What the high commission cannot do for you
Although we try to help British nationals in a wide range of situations, we cannot:
- help you enter a country, for example, if you don’t have a visa or your passport is not valid
- give you legal advice, investigate crimes or carry out searches for missing people, although we can give you details of people who may be able to help you in these cases, such as English-speaking lawyers
- get you better treatment in hospital or prison than is given to local people
- pay any bills or give you money (in very exceptional circumstances we may lend you some money from public funds, which you’ll have to pay back)
- make travel arrangements for you, or find you work or accommodation
- make business arrangements on your behalf
Consular fees
We charge fees for some of our services. See the full list of consular fees in Rwanda
Contact us
British High Commission Kigali
Parcelle No 1131, Boulevard de l'Umuganda
Kacyiru-Sud
Kigali
Kigali
BP 576
Rwanda
Email BHC.Kigali@fco.gov.uk
Telephone +250 252 556 000
Fax +250 252 582 044
Consular assistance (24 hour) +250 252 556 000
Corporate information