I will be travelling overland from Cape Town to Nairobi July and August. I know that there is no problem entering South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia (buy visa at the border) and Malawi. What about my last two countries? Lonely Planet and the Canadian foreign affairs bureau say these can be obtained at the border, but it's recommended to get these in advance.
Should I get my entry visas in advance? Or should I get them when we drive to the border? If these are obtained at the border, is it a lengthly all day adventure? Or a quick pay and stamp?
Reply to this Hi,
Going to Tanzania in July. Basically, seems to be quite simple, if you live in Ottawa next to the embassy...get it in advance....if not, after speaking to the embassies, I found it would be more time and cost effective to have it at the border. Even if I think we'll be queuing for quite a while.
I'm also doing Zambia and Zimbabwe...
I'm in Victoria Falls from 11th to 14th August. And in Zanzibar from 6th to 10th august. Are you around?
Peter
Reply to this Hello Chris 😊
I got whatever stamps were needed at the airport in Nairobi when I was there 10 years ago. I was also planning to go to Tanzania that time but did not. I had no visa for Tanzania. I was also planning to get whatever was needed at the Tanzanian border. I went to Uganda instead and got everything at the border.
Mel
Reply to this Hello! I will be in Tanzania for 2 months this summer on an educational program, and from what I've been told, it's easier to get it at the embassy before leaving. At least in the airports, I was told that the lines get ridiculously long. I can only imagine that the driving borders could be similar, although I don't know for certain. Don't know much about Kenya. Hope this helps.
Reply to this Any Canadians been to tanzania in the past month or two and done the visa thing at JRO - Kilimanjaro airport?
Was it easy? Would you advise it or should we get the Visa done here in Canada.
thanks!
Reply to this I got my Kenyan Visa at the border, but this was a fair few years ago so I'm not entirely sure if things have changed. It was at the airport and it cost about 50 bucks and was pretty painless to do.
Reply to this Hey
I was in Kenya and Tanzainia in October last year. I got both Visas from the embassy back home and would suggest you do the same. It is easy to get them at the borders but the workers behind the counter do pocket some money so at least you know your money is actually going to wherever it should be at the embassy!!!!! Also lines can be long to cross the borders so having your visa already can save you time. Just be mindful of two things
1. Embassy Visas take a few weeks to organise and are generally valid for only 3 months so don't apply until a few moths before you leave.
2. If you leave one country then re-enter at another time you will need to get another visa. This happened to me going from Zanzibar to kenya then down to Tanzania. Because Zanzibar is part of Tanzania.
Hope this helps
Reply to this Just in regards to the previous poster; they have actually changed the rules ---> the Kenyan visa is now still valid if you leave the country and then re-enter but the only countries that you are allowed to go into (for this to be true) are Tanzania and Uganda. They've only changed this very recently though. Therefore, I'm going to Kenya and then into Tanzania and then back to Kenya so I only need a single entry visa, however, if I was going to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and then back to Kenya I would need to have a multi-entry visa.
I'm going to Kenya and Tanzania in July & early August and I have arranged this from home; I figured that it saves me waiting in lines, it means that I'm not screwed in the (unlikely but possible) event that my visa isn't granted ----> at least if I organise it from home and if it's not granted then I can make other arrangements. But as a short, white, skinny, female, solo traveller I'm very conscious about how much cash I'm carrying around with me... and if I can cut down on needing cash for visas on my trip = then its all worth it.
Also, the Kenyan consulate have halved the prices for visas at the moment ----> no word on how long that's gonna last though so snap it up while you can! EDIT: after a bit more research i've found the date this is ending - it's until the end of 2010, however, there's also been some rumblings that in the early stages not all border crossings were aware of this and charged the full fee ---> so hopefully that's all cleared up by now.
Reply to this Thanks to everyone for the posts on the tanzania visa. I am going to take the advice of many and get the visa here in Canada. After talking with the Tanzanian embassy in Ottawa - they assured me it's a quick turnaround and saves the sometimes very looooong line-ups at the airport.
Reply to this just one more thing,
before you leave tanzania,
you might not want to miss the thing that will make yuor senses tingle with amusement,
ofcourse you realise you need tangible memory of tanzania,
and reallly a ginuine copy,
why dont you drop by for some heritage, for some art
be thrilled
and really thrilled Reply to this Tanzanian visa are easily obtained upon arrival. The line is not as long as in American/Japanese airports where foreigners wait to be fingerprinted and photographed. Tanzania doesn't get millions of tourists, so you will be out in less than 40 minutes. It costs 50 dollars for most western passports. Have exact change, or you will be ripped off if you have Euros, you will pay 50 Euros.If you live near the Tanzanian embassies (very few around the world) then you will save time to apply there, but it is just as convenient to get it upon arrival. If you get multiple-entry visa, you can go to East African Community countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi) with the same Tanzanian visa and back.
Reply to this Hi Guys,
Am going to fly into Kili from uk in Jan, and was told I can get my entry visa on arrival? does anyone know of any problems in doing this?
Reply to this It is not that long of a line at the airports. The process is pretty simple and straightforward. I have done both, getting a visa in advance the first time I went to Tanzania but since then I have just got it at the airport. Have a great trip.
Reply to this Another question re visas - coming from Australia and planning self-drive through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya (and then back again). Does anyone have any info not only about people visas for these countries, but vehicle visas for these countries??
Reply to this Hello Everyone,
I am traveling back to kenya at the end may and returning to australia early october.. so i will be away for a little over four months.. regular visa is valid up to 90days so i will need to ring the kenyan high commission to apply for a different type of visa. so no doubt i will be asked a bunch of questions and so fourth.. was just wondering if anyone could give me some insight on how easy or hard its going to be to get this visa..? i was in kenya for 6 weeks last year (end of august to early October) i have friends over there and this time i will be doing some volunteer work .. organizing it when i get to kenya though..
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