Tanzania visa on arrival: where to get it, how to pay, when to prefer the e-visa

§1Where can I get a visa on arrival in Tanzania?

The immigration service guidelines provide for two routes: online application on visa.immigration.go.tz and the visa on arrival at an official point of entry. They recommend the first.

Airports and ports. France Diplomatie cites the international airports of Dar es Salaam (Julius Nyerere), Zanzibar (Abeid Amani Karume) and Kilimanjaro, and the ports of Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kigoma. The FCDO refers to the main points of entry.

Land crossings. Namanga, Holili, Tunduma and Rusumo are official points of entry, but no official source confirms, crossing by crossing, that the visa is issued there. By road from Nairobi or Kigali, it is better to arrive with an e-visa.

The visa is valid for the mainland and Zanzibar. It exempts the traveller from neither the mandatory insurance, only one of which is bought, for the first point of entry, nor the Afya Msafiri form, nor, depending on the stopover, the yellow fever certificate.

§2Who can get a visa on arrival in Tanzania?

The guidelines admit to the visa on arrival the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and most European countries. Both the tourist visa and the business visa can be obtained there.

A second list excludes, unless authorised by the Commissioner General of Immigration, notably Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria, as well as stateless persons and refugees. These travellers apply online and wait for approval before buying a ticket, as the guidelines request.

A dual national is better off entering with the passport of the admitted nationality, and presenting that same passport throughout the journey: at boarding, at the visa counter and for the insurance.

Two limits apply to everyone. Only single-entry visas are issued at the border, according to the FCDO: no multiple-entry visa, which is the one US citizens must apply for. And France Diplomatie points out that a tourist visa covers neither work nor volunteering.

§3How much is the Tanzania visa on arrival and how do I pay?

At the border, the ordinary visa costs $50 and the business visa $250, according to the immigration service guidelines; France Diplomatie gives the same amounts, also payable in euros. Online, the amount paid for the tourist e-visa, transaction fees included, is $50.75.

Payment is by card or in cash, but officers do not give change, and only dollars issued after 2006 are accepted (France Diplomatie). In practice: the exact amount in notes for each traveller, children included, with the year of issue checked before departure. Cash serves as a backup if the payment terminal is not working.

Dollars are bought before departure: importing Tanzanian shillings is prohibited.

At the counter, present a passport valid at least 6 months after arrival with a blank page, a return or onward ticket, and the insurance certificate. The health check verifies the Afya Msafiri QR code and temperature. The administration publishes no waiting time; it lengthens when several flights arrive together.

A visa obtained at the border is stamped directly in the passport. After the counter, check the length of stay written in it: it may be shorter than expected, and overstaying exposes the traveller to a fine, arrest and deportation according to the FCDO.

§4Visa on arrival or e-visa for Tanzania: which to choose?

With a month or two ahead, the e-visa wins. The average delay observed by the team on real applications is about 7 days (team); a margin of 14 days leaves time to correct a refused file. The traveller avoids a queue, dollars in exact notes and the risk of learning of a refusal at the counter, with no recourse.

The border remains reasonable in three cases: a departure in under a week, an e-visa still pending the day before the flight (no rule found forbids then applying for the visa on the spot), a trip decided on the road from a neighbouring country, through an airport or port cited above. Outside these cases, waiting for the border gains nothing: for a tourist visa the amount is almost identical ($50 in cash at the counter, $50.75 online), and the wait happens at the counter rather than at home.

The boarding risk. The airline checks the documents required at destination and the ground agent decides alone. For a nationality admitted to the visa on arrival, the absence of an e-visa should not be enough to refuse boarding, but no airline rule has been found on this point. Keeping the official list of admitted nationalities on the phone allows it to be shown.

At D-7, the order is simple. Check that the nationality is admitted. File the e-visa anyway. Withdraw dollars in exact notes. Take out the insurance for the first point of entry, obtained in under an hour on average on real applications for the mainland. Fill in the Afya Msafiri form the day before the flight.