Tanzania and Zanzibar visa 2026: e-Visa, visa on arrival, fees and mandatory insurance

A safari in the Serengeti, a Kilimanjaro climb or a week on the beaches of Zanzibar: whatever the plan, a British, French, Spanish or German passport is not enough to enter Tanzania. You need a visa. There is no embassy appointment involved: you either apply online before you travel (e-Visa) or buy it on arrival at the main airports, and the official tourist visa fee is USD 50.

Since 1 October 2026, a second formality applies to every foreign visitor, including those who never set foot on Zanzibar: a mandatory local travel insurance sold by the Tanzanian state. Here is how the two fit together.

British travellers need a visa, whatever the purpose of the trip, and so do holders of French, Belgian, Swiss, Spanish or German passports. The UK government puts it plainly: you must have a tourist or business visa to enter Tanzania. Travelling on an Irish passport? The Ireland to Tanzania page shows the rule that applies to you.

Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania. There is no separate Zanzibar visa: the same visa, applied for on the same national portal, covers the mainland and the islands, whether you land in Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam or at Kilimanjaro.

For a holiday, the right document is the Ordinary Visa, valid for a single entry. Working, even briefly, or volunteering on a tourist visa is explicitly prohibited; French authorities warn that offenders face fines, removal and entry bans. The business visa costs USD 250.

Both exist in 2026. On 5 November 2024, Tanzania's immigration department denied that visas on arrival had been scrapped: the facility remains open at entry points for eligible travellers. The same notice, however, advises every visitor to apply online in advance to cut waiting times at the border.

The e-Visa is applied for on the official portal, visa.immigration.go.tz. The immigration department gives a processing time of ten days, so apply at least two weeks before departure, and earlier in peak season.

The visa on arrival is available, according to French consular advice, at the international airports of Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro, and at the ports of Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kigoma. You can pay by card or in cash, but officers do not give change, and only US dollar notes issued after 2006 are accepted. The UK government adds that only single-entry visas are issued on arrival and that you may be asked for proof of your return journey.

In practice, the e-Visa spares you a queue after an overnight flight and lets you travel with a decision already made. The visa on arrival is a fallback for last-minute trips.

The official fee schedule is short:

• Ordinary (tourist) visa: USD 50, single entry, stay of up to 90 days.
• Multiple-entry visa: USD 100, valid for one year. It is compulsory for US tourists and, for other nationalities, reserved for specific profiles (repeated family visits, company directors, official missions) with extra paperwork. It is not the standard option for a European tourist.

Tanzania's immigration department says so on its own fees page: if you are invoiced more than USD 50 for an Ordinary Visa, you have applied through an agent or an unauthorised link.

Because the Ordinary Visa is single entry, leaving for Kenya (Masai Mara, Amboseli) uses it up, and coming back requires a new visa. Plan cross-border safaris accordingly.

One more tip from French consular advice: check the length of stay stamped in your passport after immigration. It can be shorter than the one granted online.

Everything happens online at visa.immigration.go.tz:

1. Register with your email address; you receive an identification number to track the application.
2. Fill in the form and choose the Ordinary Visa.
3. Upload your passport data page, a passport photo in JPG or JPEG format and a return ticket.
4. Pay online, then track progress with your identification number.

Your passport must be valid for at least six months after arrival and have at least one blank page. A photo or file that does not meet the guidance may lead to rejection, the official guidelines warn.

This is the big change of the year. Since 1 October 2026, under Government Notice No. 256 of 2026 dated 4 September 2026, every foreign visitor entering mainland Tanzania must buy local travel insurance from the state-owned National Insurance Corporation (NIC). Zanzibar already required its own, sold by the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC).

What you need to know, according to the Tanzanian embassy in Rome and the UK government:

• This mandatory insurance costs USD 44 per visitor and covers a stay of up to 92 days.
• One policy covers the whole trip. It depends on your first port of entry: NIC if you arrive on the mainland (Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam), ZIC if you arrive in Zanzibar.
• It is required even if you already have your own policy, and can be bought online before travel or on arrival.
• Without it, you may be refused entry.

This state cover is not a substitute for proper travel insurance. French consular advice notes that most Tanzanian healthcare providers do not accept it, so keep a policy covering medical costs and repatriation, especially for a Kilimanjaro climb.

The UK government mentions a Travellers Health Surveillance Form to complete before departure or on arrival, and heightened health screening at all entry points since 17 October 2026.

For yellow fever, you need a vaccination certificate if you are coming from a country listed as a transmission risk. If your route passes through such a country, carry your certificate.

Intermediary websites. Searching for "Tanzania visa" or "Zanzibar visa" brings up sites that mimic the official portal and charge well above the government fee. Tanzania's immigration department asks applicants to use its own website only. The only visa portal is visa.immigration.go.tz; for the insurance, the only sites are inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz and inboundvisitzanzibar.go.tz.

Mixing up visa and insurance. They are two separate procedures, on two websites, with two payments. One does not replace the other.

The wrong purpose. Volunteering, internships and paid assignments are not covered by a tourist visa.

Visa fees, processing time and conditions: official portal visa.immigration.go.tz and the immigration department site immigration.go.tz (fee schedule, visa guidelines, notice of 5 November 2024), read on 23 October 2026. Mandatory insurance: Tanzanian Ministry of Finance notice published by the Tanzanian embassy in Italy, read on 23 October 2026. Entry requirements: gov.uk Tanzania travel advice, read on 23 October 2026, and France Diplomatie, updated 21 October 2026. Rules change: the official source always prevails over this page.