Tanzania Visas
Do I require a visa to enter Tanzania?
Most travellers do require a visa to enter Tanzania. Citizens of the following countries do NOT require a visa to enter Tanzania:
Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Ashmore & Certie Island, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Belize, Brunei, British Virgin Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Botswana, Cyprus, Cayman Island, Channel Island, Cocoas Island, Cook Island, Christmas Island, Dominica, Falkland Island, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Guyana, Heard Island, Hong Kong, Isle of man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Montserrat, Malaysia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Macao, Mozambique, Nauru, Naue Island, Norfolk Island, Namibia, Papua new Guinea, Rwanda, Romania, Ross Dependency, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Swaziland, Solomon Island, St. Kitts&Navis, St. Lucia, St. Vicent, St. Helana, South African Republic, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Tokelan, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Tanzania Launches Online Visa Applications
You can now apply for an Online Visa to visit the United Republic of Tanzania (both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar). You are required to fill in the online form, make payment, and submit your application online. Your form will be internally reviewed and processed.
Applicants will be notified through their e-mails whether their applications have been accepted or rejected. They may also TRACK their application statuses through the online system.
You are encouraged to apply for an online visa as it should speed up your arrivals process. Visa requirements and costs for travellers to Tanzania have remained the same, and depend on the nationality of the passport holder. Certain countries who require referred visas may not apply online.
Please read our Tanzania Online Visa guide for more information: How to apply for a Tanzania Online Visa
Can I get a visa on arrival?
If you require a tourist visa, you can get it either from your country of residence (Online Visa) or upon arrival in Tanzania (although obtaining your visa before arrival is recommended to avoid potential hassles). Please note that citizens of certain countries require a referral visa before arrival.
Referred visas are ones that require special clearance or permission from the Director of Immigration Services in Dar es Salaam or the Principal Immigration Officer in Zanzibar. Citizens of following countries must have referred visas in order to enter Tanzania: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan Republic, Kyigten Republic, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Palestine, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Somali land, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and, Stateless persons or persons with refugee status.
If you are a citizen of one of the above countries, you are encouraged to contact the nearest Tanzanian Mission abroad for further information on applying for a referred visa.
How much does a Tanzania visa cost?
An ordinary visa costs US $50; a multiple entry visa costs US $100; and a transit visa costs US $30. For US citizens, the ordinary visa fee is US $100.
Tanzania Visa Requirements
Documents required for obtaining a Tanzanian tourist visa
- A completed application form, signed by the applicant
- Your actual passport (with minimum 6 months validity and at least one unused page for stamps)
- Two (2) recent passport-sized, colour photographs
- Copy of your individual or group travel itinerary
- Proof of return travel (copy of flight itinerary or confirmation slip including dates of travel from travel agent)
- For minors (under age 18) traveling alone or with only one parent/legal guardian, proof of permission to travel by both parents/legal guardians
- Payment of the prescribed application fee
- Proof of yellow fever vaccination (if applicable)
We recommend that you verify the above details with your local Tanzanian Mission or Consulate.
Tanzania Visa requirements for Indian citizens
Citizens of India require a visa to enter Tanzania. If you are applying from India, please visit this link to see the full requirements for Tanzanian visas for Indian citizens.
Tanzania Visa requirements for U.S. citizens
Citizens of the United States require a visa to enter Tanzania. If you are applying from the United States, please visit this link to see the full requirements for Tanzanian visas for U.S. citizens.
If you have questions about the visa process, please contact your local Tanzanian Mission or Consulate.
Tanzania visas and entry: common questions
Do I need a visa for Tanzania?
Yes, for both Indian and US passport holders. Tanzania runs an e-visa system, and visa on arrival also remains available at major entry points for most nationalities — though multiple-entry visas cannot be obtained on arrival. Some nationalities cannot use visa on arrival at all and must go through a referral process that takes two months or more, so check your own position early rather than assuming.
I have a US passport — is there anything specific I should know?
Yes, and it is the single most expensive mistake made on this page. Tanzania’s official guidelines state that American tourists require the Multiple Entry Visa rather than the Ordinary Visa. US citizens who buy the cheaper ordinary visa are buying the wrong product. Select Multiple Entry when you apply.
Where do I apply?
The official portal is visa.immigration.go.tz. 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. Online processing is stated as up to ten days, so do not leave it to the week before.
Do I need separate paperwork for Zanzibar?
Not a separate visa — the e-visa covers mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar together. But since October 2024 every foreign visitor entering Zanzibar must hold inbound travel insurance purchased from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, and your own international travel policy is explicitly not accepted as a substitute. It is a single policy covering up to 92 consecutive days from entry, not a per-day charge, and leaving and re-entering Zanzibar requires a new one. You receive a QR code by email that must be shown at the border. No insurance, no entry. The official portal is inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz.
What else gets checked at the border?
Passport validity of six months and at least one blank page. Proof of a return journey, particularly for visa on arrival. A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country with transmission risk — and this is the one that catches Kenya-then-Tanzania safari circuits, because Kenya is a risk country and Tanzania is not. If your itinerary runs that way, sort the certificate out early.