PERMITS

The Ethiopian Film Commission (EFC) requires a minimum of thirty (90) business days advance notice to process applications not requiring complex activities. Approvals of permits are based on many elements and decisions made by the government that are outside the competence of the EFC, which cannot be held responsible for the denial of permits by the government.

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 already answered here.

If you are firm about your intention of filming in Ethiopia, the EFC charges an initial 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 through the EFC its permit application, the company will be charged a non-refundable processing fee (as per matrix below), and a potential increment up to 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). Please be aware that the production budget is a document that must be presented along with other documents to the government authorities in order to submit a permit application. Failing to provide accurate information or giving false budget amounts 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 and handled through the EFC.

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.

Permit Fees Index

Production Type Commissioning Entity Permit Duration Processing time Permit Fees (USD)
Advertisements for TV  Ethiopian licensed production company up to 30 days 90 days 3000
Films, TV series, documentaries Ethiopian licensed production company or Ethiopian licensed broadcaster up to 30 days 90 days 5000
Reality shows, magazine shows, lifestyle, formats Ethiopian licensed production company or Ethiopian licensed broadcaster up to 30 days 90 days 2000
Corporate videos and footage Ethiopian licensed production company up to 30 days 90 days 1250
News and current events Ethiopian licensed broadcaster commissioning Ethiopian licensed production company or publisher up to 30 days 90 days 750
Still shoots or video footage of city Ethiopian licensed production company or Ethiopian licensed broadcaster up to 30 days 90 days 500
Still shoots or video footage for any other production type Ethiopian licensed production company or Ethiopian licensed broadcaster up to 30 days 90 days 500
Online production type such as Video Blog Ethiopian licensed production company or Ethiopian licensed broadcaster up to 30 days 90 days 500

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