Getting Tanzania entry right
Sorting out your Tanzania visa and entry paperwork is one of the least glamorous parts of planning a safari, but it is also one of the easiest to get right — and one of the most stressful to get wrong at the airport. The good news is that Tanzania entry requirements are straightforward for most nationalities: a visa obtained online or on arrival, a passport with six months of validity, and in certain cases a yellow fever certificate or a Zanzibar insurance policy. This guide walks you through each requirement as it stands for 2026, in plain terms.
One note before we begin: immigration rules are set by governments, not safari operators, and they do change. What follows reflects the position as we see it from Arusha, where we at Sokwe Africa Safaris help travellers through this process every week — but you should always confirm the current rules on the official Tanzania eVisa portal, visas.immigration.go.tz, and with your nearest Tanzanian embassy before you travel. Where a rule changes often, we say so, and we walk every one of our own guests through their documents before they fly.
Do you need a visa for Tanzania?
Most visitors do. Citizens of the majority of countries — including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe — need a visa to enter Tanzania for tourism. A number of countries, mainly within Africa and the Commonwealth, are visa-exempt for short stays, and their citizens can enter with just a passport. If you are unsure which group you fall into, the official eVisa portal has a nationality checker that gives you a definitive answer in seconds, and it is worth using rather than relying on third-party websites.
A standard tourist visa allows a stay of up to 90 days for most nationalities, which is far more than the typical one-to-three-week safari or Kilimanjaro trip requires. The visa covers the whole of the United Republic of Tanzania, meaning both the mainland and Zanzibar — you do not need a separate visa for the islands, though Zanzibar has added its own insurance requirement, which we cover below. Children need their own visas, including infants, so budget and apply for every passport in the family.
The eVisa portal versus visa on arrival
Tanzania gives you two routes to a tourist visa, and both work. The first, which we recommend to most travellers, is the official eVisa, applied for online at visas.immigration.go.tz. You complete the form, upload a passport photo and passport scan, pay by card, and receive your approval by email — this typically takes up to ten working days, sometimes faster, so apply at least two to three weeks before departure. Print the approval and carry it with your passport; you will present it at immigration on arrival.
The second route is the visa on arrival, available at the major international airports and principal land borders. It is a genuine, functioning option — thousands of travellers use it every month — and it suits last-minute bookers. The trade-offs are the queue, which can be slow when several flights land together, and the payment, which is safest made in US dollars cash. If you value a smooth, quick arrival after a long overnight flight, the eVisa done in advance is the more relaxing choice; if your trip came together late, the counter will not let you down.
Whichever route you choose, use only the official government portal for an eVisa. A cottage industry of lookalike websites charges hefty mark-ups for the same visa, and some are outright scams. The genuine portal is visas.immigration.go.tz — bookmark it, apply there directly, and be suspicious of any site that appears above it in search results promising faster processing for a fee. Your confirmation emails will come from the immigration department, and the approval document carries a reference number that officers verify on arrival.
Visa types and fees
For most nationalities, the ordinary single-entry tourist visa costs USD 50 and covers a stay of up to 90 days — ample for any safari, trek or beach holiday. Citizens of the United States are a special case: US passport holders are not issued the ordinary single-entry visa and must instead obtain the USD 100 multiple-entry visa, valid for twelve months. This catches many American travellers out on the application form, so select the multiple-entry option from the start if you carry a US passport, and budget the higher fee per person.
The multiple-entry visa is also available to other nationalities who genuinely need it — for example, travellers combining Tanzania with Kenya and returning to Tanzania afterwards. Note that Tanzania is not part of the East Africa Tourist Visa scheme that covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, so a combined East African itinerary needs a separate Tanzanian visa alongside whatever your other destinations require. If your safari crosses in and out of Tanzania, tell your operator the full routing and they can confirm exactly which visa type you need before you pay.
Passport validity and the basics
Tanzania requires your passport to be valid for at least six months beyond your date of arrival, with at least one blank page for the entry stamp — though we suggest two or three blank pages if your trip includes other countries. Check this early: passport renewals in many countries take weeks, and a passport that expires five months after your safari is a problem no amount of goodwill at the airport can fix. Check the passports of children in particular, which are often issued with shorter validity and expire sooner than parents expect.
Beyond the passport and visa, immigration officers may ask to see proof of onward or return travel and evidence of where you are staying. In practice, travellers on an organised safari are rarely questioned in detail — your itinerary and return flight booking are all the proof needed — but keep printed or offline copies of your eVisa approval, flight confirmations and first night's accommodation to hand. Arrival halls have patchy Wi-Fi, and being able to produce a document without a signal keeps the queue moving and your stress level low.
Zanzibar's mandatory travel insurance
Since late 2024, Zanzibar has required all foreign visitors to hold a mandatory local travel insurance policy, purchased from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, for the duration of their stay on the islands. The policy has cost around USD 44 per person and covers a stay of up to 92 days; it can be bought online in advance through the official Zanzibar channels, which is smoother than dealing with it on arrival. This is a genuine requirement, checked at Zanzibar's airport, and it applies even if you already carry comprehensive travel insurance from home.
Two clarifications save confusion. First, the requirement applies to Zanzibar, not the mainland — if your trip is safari-only through Kilimanjaro or Dar es Salaam with no island stay, it does not affect you. Second, the Zanzibar policy is a supplement, not a substitute: you should still carry proper international travel insurance with medical evacuation cover for your whole trip, as our health and safety guide explains. The scheme's details — price, coverage, purchase process — have evolved since launch, so confirm the current arrangements on the official Zanzibar government channels before you fly.
Yellow fever and health paperwork
The yellow fever rule is the most misunderstood of Tanzania's entry requirements, so here it is plainly: Tanzania requires a yellow fever vaccination certificate only if you are arriving from, or have transited for longer than twelve hours through, a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. If you fly directly from Europe, North America or the Gulf, no certificate is required. If you spend time in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia or another endemic country on the way — beyond a short airside transit — you should carry the certificate, and officials do check arrivals on those routes.
The practical advice is simple. Look at your full routing, including stopovers, and if any of it touches an endemic country for more than a brief transit, get the vaccination at a travel clinic at least ten days before departure — the certificate is valid for life. Many safari-goers combining Kenya and Tanzania choose to have it regardless, which removes all doubt at the border. For malaria prevention, vaccination advice and what to pack in your medical kit, see our full health and safety guide, and speak to a travel clinic six to eight weeks out.
Arrival airports and land borders
Tanzania has three main international gateways, and choosing the right one shapes your whole itinerary. Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), between Arusha and Moshi, is the gateway to the northern safari circuit — Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Lake Manyara — and to Kilimanjaro treks. Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam (DAR) serves the city, the southern parks of Nyerere and Ruaha, and connections across the country. Abeid Amani Karume International Airport on Zanzibar (ZNZ) receives direct international flights for travellers heading straight to the beach.
All three airports offer visa on arrival and process eVisas, and all connect to the light-aircraft network that shuttles safari-goers to airstrips deep in the parks. The classic combinations are simple: fly into JRO for a northern safari, out of ZNZ after a Zanzibar finale; or into DAR for the southern parks. Immigration at JRO is generally calm; DAR and ZNZ can be busier when large aircraft arrive together, which is where a pre-approved eVisa earns its keep. Our Tanzania travel guide covers routing, flight connections and transfer times in more detail.
Entering Tanzania by land
Plenty of travellers enter Tanzania overland, most commonly from Kenya at the Namanga border on the Nairobi–Arusha road, or at Holili near Taveta between Voi and Moshi. Borders with Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique also handle tourist traffic. The major crossings issue visas on arrival and accept eVisas, though we strongly recommend the eVisa for land borders — facilities are simpler than at the airports, queues less predictable, and a pre-approved visa turns the crossing into a brief formality rather than an hour of paperwork.
If you are crossing from Kenya, remember three things: Kenya has its own electronic travel authorisation to arrange for the Kenyan side; the yellow fever certificate rule applies because you are arriving from an endemic country; and the East Africa Tourist Visa does not cover Tanzania. The Namanga crossing itself is well-trodden and efficient by regional standards — our drivers meet guests there regularly — and the drive onward to Arusha takes around two hours. As with everything at borders, carry US dollars cash, printed documents and a little patience.
Common mistakes to avoid
After years of meeting guests at airports and borders, we see the same handful of avoidable errors. The most common is applying for the eVisa too late and then sweating on the approval email as departure approaches — apply three weeks out and the problem disappears. Second is US citizens selecting the USD 50 single-entry visa on the form when they must take the USD 100 multiple-entry option. Third is assuming a Kenyan visa or the East Africa Tourist Visa covers Tanzania; it does not, and the fix at the border costs time.
- Apply for the eVisa at visas.immigration.go.tz two to three weeks ahead
- US passport holders need the USD 100 multiple-entry visa
- Passport valid six months beyond arrival with blank pages
- Zanzibar stays require the mandatory local insurance policy
- Yellow fever certificate only if arriving from an endemic country
- Carry USD cash and printed copies of every document
The remaining mistakes are smaller but just as annoying: arriving with a passport that is damaged or nearly full; forgetting that children need visas too; transiting Nairobi for a long layover without a yellow fever certificate; landing on Zanzibar unaware of the insurance requirement; and relying on airport Wi-Fi to display documents that should have been printed. None of these is fatal, but each turns a smooth arrival into a slow one. A safari that begins with a calm, ten-minute passage through immigration sets the tone for everything that follows.
The paperwork takes an evening to arrange and three minutes to present — get it done early, and your safari begins the moment you land.
Plan the rest of the trip with our complete Tanzania travel guide, read up on safety in Tanzania, and prepare with our health and safety guide — or contact us to have it all handled for you.
Checklist: what to have ready before you fly
Here is the complete picture for a typical 2026 safari traveller. A passport valid six months beyond arrival with blank pages. An approved eVisa printed out, or USD 50 in cash for the visa on arrival — USD 100 for US citizens, who need the multiple-entry visa either way. A yellow fever certificate if your routing touches an endemic country for more than a twelve-hour transit. The Zanzibar insurance policy if the islands are on your itinerary. Return flight confirmation and your first accommodation details, printed. Comprehensive travel insurance with medical evacuation cover for the whole trip.
Run through that list a month before departure and again the week you fly, and Tanzanian immigration will be the easiest part of your journey. It bears repeating that fees, forms and schemes do change — the Zanzibar insurance requirement arrived with little notice in 2024, and processing times on the eVisa portal vary with the season — so treat this guide as your map and the official portal as the final word. Five minutes on visas.immigration.go.tz in the month before travel confirms everything is as you expect.
Travel with every document in order
Entry paperwork is exactly the kind of detail a good local operator takes off your shoulders. When you book with Sokwe Africa Safaris, we walk you through every entry document before you fly — confirming your visa type and application timing, checking your routing against the yellow fever rules, arranging the Zanzibar insurance where it applies, and making sure your arrival airport matches your itinerary. Tell us your travel dates and nationality, and we will send you a personal entry checklist alongside your safari proposal, so the only thing you need to think about on landing is the adventure ahead.
Plan your Tanzania trip with Sokwe Africa Safaris