Tanzanian and Kenyan visas

Visas for Tanzania

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El-Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Independent State of Samoa, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (North & South), Kuwait, Kurdistan, Laos, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Libya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malagasy, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.

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 US$100 for US citizens regardless of whether it is a single or multiple entry visa. For non-US citizens it is US$50 for a single entry visa (which is currently equivalent to £38 for UK citizens), and US$100 for multiple entry. A visa is typically valid for twelve months from the date of issue (though do check this).

Unless coming from a country without Tanzanian representation or the EU, you should buy your visa at the consulate/embassy beforehand (though these days it seems that anyone can buy one both at Kilimanjaro International Airport and 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).

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