Tanzanian and Kenyan visas

Visas for Tanzania

Visas for Tanzania are required by most visitors except citizens of the following countries:Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Brunei, Cyprus, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malawi, Malta, Maldives, Mauritius, Namibia, Nauru, Sao Tome & Principe Island, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Island, Swaziland, Tuvalu, Tonga, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Note that while some Commonwealth countries are included in that list, citizens of Canada, India, Nigeria and the UK do require Tanzanian visas.

A single-entry Tanzanian visa costs £38 for UK citizens, US$50 for US citizens, and E50 for most European nations. A visa is typically valid for three months from the date of issue. Unless coming from a country without Tanzanian representation, you should buy your visa at the consulate/embassy beforehand (though it doesn’t seem to be a problem to buy one both at Kilimanjaro International Airport nor at the Namanga border crossing with Kenya).

With all applications you will need to present a passport that’s valid for at least six months and two passport photos. If applying in person, some consulates/high commissions (including the ones in London and Washington) insist that you pay in cash.

If you don’t have a Tanzanian representative in your country you can pick up a visa only at one of the four border controls: Dar-es-Salaam International Airport, Kilimanjaro International Airport, Zanzibar International Airport, and the Namanga border crossing between Tanzania and Kenya.

Kenyan visas

Remember that, if flying in and out of Kenya you will need a Kenyan visa too (typically around £30 for UK citizens, though a transit visa is only £10). If you plan to fly to Kenya and cross into Tanzania from there, you can return to Kenya using the same single-entry Kenyan visa you arrived with providing your visit to Tanzania lasted for less than two weeks, and that your Kenyan visa has not expired.

Apparently, you can do this only once (ie it acts as a double-entry visa, not a multiple-entry one), or so we were told at the Kenyan border the last time we did this. Otherwise, you will need to buy a multiple-entry visa, which typically costs double the single-entry (ie UK£60). Follow this link for a list of Kenyan embassies abroad.

<< Travelling in Tanzania

Yellow fever certificates >>