Tanzania Visa Guide: How to Get Your e-Visa

A Tanzania visa is required by most foreign visitors, and the simplest, safest way to get one is the official online e-Visa applied for before you travel. Whether you are heading for a Serengeti safari, a Kilimanjaro trek or the beaches of Zanzibar, sorting your visa in advance spares you long airport queues and the small but real risk of being turned away.

This guide walks you through the whole process: which visa type you need, what it costs, the documents to prepare, and how to apply step by step. We also cover visa-on-arrival, specific advice for Indian passport holders, and the new mandatory travel insurance rule for Zanzibar.

Fees and rules can change, so treat the figures here as a guide and always confirm the current amounts on the official immigration portal before you pay.

Do you need a visa for Tanzania?

Most foreign visitors need a visa to enter Tanzania, including travellers from the UK, Europe, North America, India and many other countries. A small number of nationalities, mainly within parts of Africa, are exempt, so it is worth confirming your own situation before assuming anything.

The quickest way to check is by nationality. Our Visa Checker tool lets you confirm whether you need a visa and what type, while the official immigration portal is the final authority. If you do need one, the recommended route for nearly everyone is the ordinary tourist e-Visa, applied for online before you fly.

One reassuring point: Tanzania is a single country for visa purposes. This includes the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar, so you do not need a separate visa to visit Stone Town or the beaches, only the standard Tanzania visa.

Use the official e-Visa portal, not lookalike sites

Tanzania's e-Visa is issued through the Tanzania Immigration Services Department's e-services portal. This is the only official application channel, and it is where you should apply and pay.

A persistent problem is the number of unofficial lookalike websites that appear in search results. These third-party agents charge a hefty mark-up on top of the government fee and sometimes provide poor or misleading service. There is no need to use them. Look for the official immigration department domain, be wary of sponsored adverts, and never enter your card details on a site you are unsure about.

When in doubt, reach the portal via an official Tanzanian government link rather than clicking the first search result. The genuine fee is paid by card directly to the immigration department.

Visa types and costs

For tourism, the visa you will almost certainly want is the ordinary single-entry tourist visa. As an indicative figure this costs around USD 50 for most nationalities, valid for a stay of up to 90 days. Always confirm the exact fee on the official portal, as amounts are reviewed periodically.

There is an important exception for United States passport holders, who are generally required to apply for the multiple-entry visa rather than the single-entry one. This costs more, indicatively around USD 100, and allows several entries over a longer period. If you hold a US passport, select the multiple-entry option to avoid having your application rejected.

Other categories exist, such as transit and business visas, but for a standard holiday the ordinary tourist visa is the right choice. Payment is by debit or credit card during the online application.

What you need before you apply

Gathering your documents first makes the application quick and painless. The portal asks you to upload scans and enter your travel details, so have everything ready before you begin.

• A passport valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date, with blank pages for stamps.
• A clear scan or photograph of your passport bio-data page.
• A recent passport-style photograph on a plain background.
• Your travel and accommodation details, including where you will stay on your first nights.
• A return or onward air ticket.
• A debit or credit card to pay the visa fee online.
• A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from, or have recently been in, a country where yellow fever is a risk.

How to apply for the Tanzania e-Visa, step by step

The online application is straightforward and usually takes around twenty minutes once your documents are ready. Follow these steps.

1. Go to the official Tanzania Immigration Services Department e-services portal and create an account.
2. Start a new application and select the visa type, normally the ordinary tourist visa, or the multiple-entry visa if you hold a US passport.
3. Complete the form with your personal and passport details exactly as they appear in your passport.
4. Enter your travel information, including arrival date, port of entry and accommodation address.
5. Upload your passport bio-data page, your passport-style photo and any other requested documents.
6. Review every field carefully, checking that names, numbers and dates match your passport precisely.
7. Pay the visa fee by card and submit the application.
8. Wait for your approval by email, then download and print the visa grant notice to show on arrival.

Visa on arrival and processing times

Visa-on-arrival is still available to many nationalities at major entry points, including Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro International Airport and the airport in Zanzibar. In principle you can pay and collect a visa once you land.

Even so, we strongly recommend applying online in advance. Arrival queues can be long after a night flight, payment facilities are not always reliable, and a small number of travellers are refused at the counter. An approved e-Visa printed before you fly removes that uncertainty.

Processing usually takes from a few days to around two weeks. Apply at least two to three weeks before departure so there is time to respond if the immigration department asks for more information or referred processing applies.

Tanzania visa for Indian passport holders

Indian passport holders generally need to apply for the e-Visa online in advance rather than relying on visa-on-arrival. The process and document requirements are the same as for other nationalities: a valid passport, a photo, your bio-data scan, travel details and card payment.

Some nationalities, which can include Indian applicants, are subject to what the immigration department calls referred processing. This means the application is reviewed more thoroughly and can take longer than a standard tourist visa. It is nothing to worry about, but it does mean you should apply early, ideally three to four weeks ahead, and avoid booking non-refundable travel until your visa is granted.

If you are an Indian traveller heading to Zanzibar, remember the mandatory travel insurance rule covered below applies to you too.

Zanzibar's mandatory travel insurance and yellow fever

Although Zanzibar does not require a separate visa, it has introduced a mandatory travel insurance requirement for visitors arriving on the islands. This is a specific insurance product purchased through the official Zanzibar scheme, and it is separate from any general travel policy you may already hold. Confirm the current rule and buy the cover before you travel, as it can be checked on arrival.

On health, a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present, or have recently transited one. If you are flying directly from Europe or North America this usually does not apply, but it frequently does for travellers routing through other African nations, so check your itinerary carefully.

Keep digital and printed copies of your visa, your Zanzibar insurance confirmation and any vaccination certificate together, so they are easy to present at immigration.

Common mistakes to avoid

Most visa problems are avoidable. The most frequent issue is a mismatch between the application and the passport: a misspelled name, a wrong passport number or an incorrect date of birth can all delay or invalidate a visa, so check every field twice.

Other common errors include applying too late and running out of time before departure, using an unofficial lookalike website and overpaying, and US passport holders selecting single-entry when they are required to hold the multiple-entry visa. Travellers heading to the islands also forget the Zanzibar insurance requirement.

Plan ahead, apply only through the official portal, and use our Visa Checker and Visa Requirements pages to confirm the details for your nationality before you start.