Kids Activities and dogs in Luanda

[aymanm70]

Hi there
I'm moving to Luanda on Aug. 2009 with an oil company and I would like to know what is required to get my dog into Angola (paperwork)?
Will home owners accept pets in the furnished houses?

Also is ther any sports activites in Luanda for kids, I know that the international school there has a pool and a GYM but is thee anything else for kids to play (get the energy out).
My kids are 7 gurl and 4 boy.

[dangermouse]

Where in Luanda is your housing and which of the 2 international schools are they going to?

Dog-wise, I'll speak to a lady I know who did the same thing and ask her what she did.

[aymanm70]

Where in Luanda is your housing and which of the 2 international schools are they going to?
I'm not sure of both , I didn't make still the house hunting trip.
The guy I'm replacing lives in luanda sul (I guess) and I'm not sure if we will like this place or not...we want to have a pool and a gated community if possible.
But in genral is there anything outside the school for sports activites?
One more question if I may add ( I might sound crazy) do they have G-3 telephone networks in Luanda?
Thanks for taking the time to look and answer.
Cheers,

[dangermouse]

OK, I thought you'd probably be in Luanda Sul, most families are housed there as it's a much nicer, safer place to live than Luanda itself. (there is a serious commute involved to get into Luanda though, it can take hours if the traffic is bad)

There are many secure, gated compounds in Luanda Sul and as far as I'm aware most have pools. (I'm aware of some that even have seperate adult and kids pools)
You'll obviously have to make your own decision once you're here, but Sul is probably the best place to be for kids.
The International school in Sul is also newer, bigger and probably better quality than the original one in the city as well.

There are plenty of activities outside of school, gyms for adults, parks and clubs for kids - the other parents in the compound you're living in will be able to tell you more, but I wouldn't worry on that point.
There's also a reasonable mall and cinema complex in Sul as well.

Cellphone wise, there is mobile Internet service available via USB "dongles" and voice service available from 2 different providers.
The Internet service costs $250 a month for a 1mb connection and works 50% of the time or so
I believe that picture messaging etc also works here.

Hope this helps.

[gozomark]

$250 /month

[dangermouse]

$250 /month

Yep, outrageous isn't it.

I've just renewed one of our USB dongles for a 3 month period and the total cost including Angolan tax was just over $750

Fixed line ADSL connections (if they're available) are a little cheaper at about $150 a month, but even then the speed is still max 2mb and the contention ratio is awful.

Hence all our office locations have satellite Internet service, it's not cheap but it is fast and, more importantly, reliable!

[dangermouse]

Hi there
I'm moving to Luanda on Aug. 2009 with an oil company and I would like to know what is required to get my dog into Angola (paperwork)?
Will home owners accept pets in the furnished houses?

OK, apologies for the delay in replying, but please see below the text of an e-mail I received from a friend who brought her dog with her.

To import a pet to Luanda, it is important that the pet go as accompanied baggage on a flight and not be shipped as cargo on a separate flight from the arriving family. Cargo clears customs differently than accompanied baggage.
Non-direct flights require special assistance from the airline, which can be expensive.

Still, our dog arrived VERY thirsty and ready to get out of that kennel after about one hour of boarding and a 15 hour flight followed by two hours of clearing immigration and customs. 18 hours without a drink or a break is a long time.


1) Pets must have a microchip certificate. It is required to be an international microchip. I don't know the differences in microchips, and ours got hers years ago when things were probably different. In any case, they let her in.


2) Pets must have current vaccinations and a vaccination history. Unless the pet is very young, they need several years of vaccination records, not just the most recent.


3) A photo and description of the pet must be submitted.


4) In the US pets require a US International Health Certificate that you obtain from your vet, dated within 5-10 days before they are imported. I can't remember exactly how many days was allowed, but ours got hers on Jan. 23 and we arrived in Luanda Jan. 27. Some countries require an Apostile of the vet's signature on the International Health Certificate, but that was not required for us going non-stop from Texas to Angola. Each US state has a different place to issue an Apostile for a document.


We submitted Items 1-3 and copies of his passport, visa, etc. to the Ministerio da Agricultura - Instituto dos Servicos de Veterinaria. It took 2-3 weeks to receive the domestic animal import license, which was valid for import within 60 days of receiving the license. Remember that my husband came before us and he already had his permission to work and permission to bring our stuff before he applied to bring the dog, which I'm sure contributed to the ease in bringing her in.


The import license and international health certificate are put in to sheet protectors and taped to the top of the kennel so they are available to be checked by anyone along the way. We put copies and carried the originals with our personal paperwork. When we cleared immigration and customs our baggage was waiting for us, along with our dog in her crate. We assume whoever needed to see the paperwork had seen it, so we just picked her up and loaded her in to the car along with the luggage. There were no problems, no hassles, no bribes.

I hope this helps you in your quest to bring in your pet.