Ethiopia Visas – Requirements & More
Ethiopia Visa Requirements
The vast majority of travellers require a visa to enter Ethiopia. If you require a visa, you may obtain it either from the nearest embassy or consulate prior to your trip, or you may obtain it upon arrival at Bole International Airport.
Ethiopia also uses the E-Visa system, which allows travelers to apply for visas entirely online, and then receive the visa stamped on their passport upon arrival to the country. Please note that visas are not issued upon arrival at overland border crossings. If you have questions about the visa process, please feel free to contact Chalo Africa or your local Ethiopian embassy or consulate for advice.
List of countries exempt from Ethiopia Visas
Kenya and Djibouti are the only countries whose nationals do not require an Ethiopian visa.
Documents required for an Ethiopia visa
- Passport
- Recent passport-size photograph
- A completed visa application form
We recommend that you verify the above details on the Ethiopia E-Visa Page
The New Ethiopia E-Visa
Please refer the following requirements for Ethiopian eVISA.
- e-Visa application fees are not refundable.
- Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date you intend to enter Ethiopia.
- A passport size photo and scanned copy of the passport is required.
- Currently we are issuing single entry tourist visas only.
- Currently, we allow travelers with e-Visa to enter Ethiopia via Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Entry via other ports of entry is not allowed.
- The validity of Ethiopian e-Visa starts from the date you intend to enter Ethiopia, and not from the date of issue.
- If you are not national of the countries listed as ‘Eligible countries’ or ‘Country of Residence’ and you claim that you have permanent residence permit in one of these countries, you are required to upload the residence permit while submitting your application and you must show it to the Immigration officers on your arrival at the entry point.
Ethiopia Visa requirements for US citizens
United States citizens require a visa to enter Ethiopia. US citizens are eligible to apply for an Ethiopia eVisa.
Ethiopia Visa requirements for Indian citizens
Citizens of India require a visa to enter Ethiopia. Indian citizens are eligible to apply for an Ethiopia eVisa.
Ethiopia visas and entry: common questions
Can I get a visa on arrival in Ethiopia?
No. Ethiopia suspended visa on arrival for non-resident foreign nationals and has not reinstated it, and current UK government guidance makes no mention of it at Addis Ababa Bole, directing travellers to apply before arrival instead. Both Indian and US passport holders need an e-visa in advance. Arriving expecting to buy a visa on landing is the dominant Ethiopian failure mode, and it is made worse by third-party guidance that still describes a route which no longer operates.
Where do I apply?
The official portal is evisa.gov.et, confirmed as official by the UK government. A warning that applies to every country on this site: commercial reseller sites consistently outrank the official portals in search results, because the government portals are JavaScript applications that index badly while the copycats are static pages that index beautifully. They charge a markup for filling in the same form. Check the domain before you pay anyone. Apply in good time rather than in the final week.
I am only connecting through Addis — do I need a visa?
Not if you stay airside. Addis is a major transit hub and travellers connecting without clearing immigration do not need an Ethiopian visa. Anyone leaving the airport does. Worth knowing separately: because Ethiopia is a yellow fever risk country, a landside connection in Addis can change what your onward destination requires of you, even if Ethiopia itself asks nothing.
What are Ethiopia’s passport requirements?
Six months’ validity beyond arrival, and the passport must be machine-readable — that second requirement is unusual in the region and does occasionally catch travellers carrying older or hand-written travel documents, or an emergency replacement issued mid-trip. Assume you need at least two blank pages. If you are replacing a passport partway through a multi-country itinerary, check this before you fly rather than at the airport.
What else gets checked at the border?
A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country with transmission risk, from age nine months, including airport transits over twelve hours. Proof of onward travel and accommodation. We do not apply for or arrange visas — but with festival travel in particular, where Timkat on 19 January and Meskel on 27 September are fixed dates and Gondar and Lalibela sell out a year ahead, the visa is rarely the thing that constrains a booking. See our guide to the best time to visit Ethiopia.