PERMITS

The Ethiopian Film Commission (EFC) requires a minimum of thirty (30) business days (though 60-90 is more advisable) advance notice to process applications to shoot in Ethiopia. Approvals of permits are based on many elements and decisions are made by the government, being outside the competence of the EFC, which cannot be held responsible for the denial of permits by the government authorities, such as the Ethiopian Embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ethiopian Media Authority, among others.

Application Processing Fee

The EFC provides basic information available for free on this website. Please have a careful look at it before approaching us with questions that are clearly answered here.

If you are firm about your intention of filming in Ethiopia, the EFC charges an initial non returnable fee of USD 150 to provide more in-depth consultancy services regarding permits, including a step-to-step guide on how to get permits in Ethiopia. No request will be attended without prior payment, which guarantees a throughout follow-up of your case.

Once the production company decides to submit the necessary documents through the EFC, the company will be charged a final processing fee (as per matrix below), never below these fees or above 2% of production budget per application. A single application can include permit requests for multiple days and locations. This application does not include VISA payments, which are privately handled by the production companies wishing to film in Ethiopia (currently estimated at 152 USD per crew member as per the Inmigration current prices). 

Please be aware that, among other documents like a synopsis, crew list, and background of the firm, the production budget is a document that must be presented to the government authorities in order to submit a permit application. Failing to provide accurate information or giving false budgetary information regarding the budget will result in ending the contract with the EFC without the possibility of requesting any refunds.

Location Fees

Standard location fees for all public and most private locations in Ethiopia are established by the government of Ethiopia or private owners. You can use our services to handle them.

Public Locations

The location fees for public locations depend on the type of project, please see below fee matrix for further details.

Private Locations

The location fees for private locations will be stipulated at the discretion of the location owner and may vary depending upon demand and production requirements. All private locations reserve the right to pass onto the production company any additional fees incurred by the location during filming, such as clean-up, security and additional services. All semi government and private locations reserve the right to pass onto the production company any additional fees incurred by the location during filming, such as clean-up, security and additional services.