What You Need to Know When You’re Moving to Maputo

Relocating to Maputo

About the City

The city is located on the western stretch of Maputo Bay by the Estuário do Espírito Santo. This bay is 95 km by 30 km. Maputo’s municipality stretches across 346 square km. Maputo is 120 km from the South African border (the border is at Ressano Garcia). Maputo is also 80 km from the border with Swaziland. The population of Maputo was approximately 1.17 million in 2014.

Visas for Mozambique

Visitors from Western countries tend to need a visa, even for tourism. It is therefore highly recommended that you acquire a visa prior to travelling to Maputo. You must apply to your Mozambique embassy in your home country in advance.

Documents required include visa request form, copy of the photo page of passport, two passport photos, a letter from your place of work and a recent bank statement, a confirmed hotel reservation that spans the period of your proposed stay in Maputo as well as a return air ticket. Passports must also be valid for a minimum of six months from the issue date of the visa and have at least three blank pages.

If you are travelling from a country at risk of yellow fever then you will have to present a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate or you will be refused entry.

There are essentially two stages to getting a work visa in Maputo. You need to get “work authorization” and then get a work permit. To get “work authorization” you need to apply to the Ministry for Labor via Maputo’s Provincial Delegations. Then it is necessary to submit a form in person at your embassy in Maputo. Documents that you need to provide include a letter from your prospective employer and a criminal reference. For a residence permit, a health check and a proof of financial/maintenance guarantee are also needed.

The Climate in Maputo

Maputo has a tropical savanna climate and, perhaps surprisingly for a city situated on the Indian Ocean, is relatively dry, with an average of 814 mm of precipitation per year. However, the city’s location means it is vulnerable to the worst of climate change, with the potential for flooding a real issue.

The wettest months are November through to March, this period forming Mozambique’s rainy season. While Maputo is hot all year round, the warmest month is January, with an average high of around 30°C.