There are ten countries on the TDA route. Four of them don’t require a visa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Malawi) and four one can get a visa at the border/airport (Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia). This leaves only Ethiopia and Sudan. Today I got my passport back with an Ethiopian visa – so sounds like I’m pretty close right?
Sudan is going to be a bit tricky. The Sudanese Embassy in Washington DC says it issues entry visas for 30 days, so I don’t want it to expire before I arrive. In contrast the Sudanese Embassy in Ottawa says it issues visas for up to 90 days. I will have to wait until 30 days before arrival in Sudan to apply but then still need to get the passport back before I leave the USA. That is a window of 14 days (including both Christmas and New Years holidays). Add in the note on Embassy web site that says normal processing time is 4 to 6 weeks.
This is a case where I’ll try working with a visa expediter. Probably call them up to make sure they can help hit this time window including processing time and otherwise make sure there aren’t problems with the application.