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Practical · 8 min read

Tanzania visa and vaccinations: what is actually required

What is actually required, and what merely gets repeated online.

Active Kili Top · Arusha · Updated 3 October 2026
Open passport pages covered in immigration stamps
Tanzania’s visa is applied for online; the stamp comes at the border.

Questions about the Tanzania visa and vaccinations are the ones we are asked most before a trip, and the ones most often answered wrongly online. Old fees are copied from page to page. A yellow fever certificate is described as compulsory for everyone, which it is not. A new insurance rule for the mainland came into force on 1 October 2026, and most pages have not caught up with it.

This is what the official sources say at the time of writing (October 2026), with the page to check for each point. Rules change without notice, and entry is your own responsibility, so read the official page again in the week you apply. On health we report the published guidance of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the UK’s TravelHealthPro. We are not a medical service, and the advice that counts is from a travel clinic that knows your history.

The short answer

Most visitors need a visa for Tanzania: USD 50 for a single-entry tourist visa, or USD 100 for the multiple-entry visa that US citizens must take. No vaccination is required unless you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk, or spend more than 12 hours in transit there. Malaria tablets are advised, and entry insurance is now compulsory.

At a glance: Tanzania visa and vaccinations in October 2026

Fees and rules as published at the time of writing (October 2026). They can change without notice.
RequirementWhat the official source saysWhere to check
Tourist visaOrdinary single-entry visa, USD 50, valid up to 90 daysTanzania Immigration, visa.immigration.go.tz
US passport holdersMust take the multiple-entry visa, USD 100, valid one yearTanzania Immigration
PassportSix months’ validity and at least one unused visa pageTanzania Immigration
Yellow fever certificateOnly if arriving from, or more than 12 hours in transit through, a country with riskCDC; TravelHealthPro
MalariaAntimalarial tablets advised below 1,800 metresCDC; TravelHealthPro
Entry insuranceCompulsory for non-residents, bought for your first point of entryUK FCDO travel advice; NIC or ZIC
Plastic carrier bagsBanned since 1 June 2019Vice President’s Office notice
Next: Who needs a visa ↓Contents ↑

Tanzania visa requirements: who needs one and what it costs

Most visitors need a visa. Tanzania Immigration’s guidelines list the exceptions: citizens of the East African Community states, of the Southern African Development Community states except Comoros, and of Commonwealth countries, with seven of those excluded. The seven are the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand. If you hold one of those passports, or a European, American or most other passports, you need a visa before you pass the immigration desk.

For a holiday the visa is called an Ordinary visa. The guidelines give the fee as USD 50 and the validity as up to 90 days, on a single entry. One visa covers both the mainland and Zanzibar. If you leave for another East African country and come back while the visa is still valid, the guidelines say you may use the same visa to return. Every traveller needs a separate application, children included.

American citizens are treated differently. Under an agreement between the two countries, a US passport holder cannot take the Ordinary visa and must apply for the Multiple visa even for one short visit. It costs USD 100 and is valid for a year. Whatever your nationality, your passport must have six months’ validity and at least one unused visa page, and you must be able to show a return ticket on arrival.

Next: E-visa or on arrival ↓Contents ↑

The Tanzania e-visa and the visa on arrival

There are two ways to get the visa. You can apply online before you travel, or you can buy one on arrival at an official entry point such as Kilimanjaro International Airport. Immigration recommends the online route, and so do we, because the queue for visas on arrival after a long flight can be slow. The British government’s travel advice adds that a multiple-entry visa cannot be issued on arrival, which matters to Americans.

Apply only on the official site, visa.immigration.go.tz. Search results are full of agencies with similar names that charge a fee on top and sometimes get it wrong. You upload a passport photograph, a copy of your passport’s data page and your return ticket, and pay by Visa or Mastercard. Immigration states that applications are processed within ten days. We suggest applying three to four weeks ahead, and not before your flights are booked.

The approval arrives by email as a visa grant notice. Print it and carry it with your passport. Immigration notes that the notice is not a final right of entry, and that the officer at the border decides. A smaller group of nationalities falls under what is called the referral category, cannot get a visa on arrival, and is advised to apply at least two months ahead. The list is on the Immigration site. If you are unsure, ask us and we will point you to the right page.

Next: Yellow fever ↓Contents ↑

Yellow fever certificate for Tanzania: the 12-hour rule

This is the rule most often misreported. Tanzania does not require a yellow fever certificate from everyone. The CDC states the requirement as follows: a certificate is needed from travellers aged one year or over who arrive from a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission, and that includes a transit or layover of more than 12 hours in an airport in such a country. TravelHealthPro words it the same way, under the International Health Regulations.

So a traveller who flies from London, Amsterdam, Doha, Dubai or Istanbul straight to Kilimanjaro or Zanzibar does not need one. A traveller who has been in Kenya, Uganda or Ethiopia first does, because those countries are on the World Health Organization’s risk list. A change of planes in Nairobi or Addis Ababa of under 12 hours falls outside the stated rule. A missed connection can turn four hours into fourteen, so if you already hold a certificate, bring it.

Whether to have the vaccine for its own sake is a separate question. The CDC does not generally recommend it for travel to Tanzania itself, and TravelHealthPro describes the potential for exposure there as low. The vaccine is not suitable for everyone, particularly some older travellers and people with certain medical conditions. That is a decision for a travel clinic. If you combine Tanzania with Kenya or Uganda, raise it with the clinic early, because certificates take effect ten days after vaccination.

Next: Vaccines and malaria ↓Contents ↑

Vaccinations and malaria tablets for Tanzania

No other vaccination is a condition of entry. What is advised is a different list. TravelHealthPro advises hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid for most travellers to Tanzania, and lists others, including hepatitis B, rabies and cholera, for some travellers depending on what they will be doing. The CDC list is similar and asks that routine vaccinations such as measles are up to date. At the time of writing the CDC also has a polio notice for Tanzania, advising a booster.

Malaria is the larger risk. Both the CDC and TravelHealthPro state that malaria is present in all areas of Tanzania below 1,800 metres, Zanzibar included, and both advise antimalarial tablets. That takes in the safari parks and the coast. The tablets named in the guidance are atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline and mefloquine, and the CDC adds tafenoquine. They differ in how they are taken and in their side effects, and a travel-health professional should choose with you.

The upper slopes of Kilimanjaro are above the malaria line, but every climb starts and ends below it. The health question on the mountain is altitude, which we cover in altitude is not a fitness test. For the lowlands, tablets are half the defence. The other half is avoiding bites: long sleeves in the evening, repellent, and the net over your bed. See a clinic six to eight weeks before you fly. The clothing is in our safari packing list.

Next: Insurance and bags ↓Contents ↑

Mandatory travel insurance and the plastic bag ban

Zanzibar has required visitors to buy its own inbound travel insurance since 1 October 2024, from the state-owned Zanzibar Insurance Corporation. From 1 October 2026 mainland Tanzania has a matching rule, under the Insurance (Inbound Travel Insurance) Regulations, 2026, with cover sold by the National Insurance Corporation. The British government’s travel advice now states that all visitors to the mainland and to Zanzibar, except residents, must hold it, and that you may be refused entry without it.

You buy one policy, for your first point of entry, and it is valid for up to 92 days. Trade press reports put the fee at USD 44 for an adult and USD 22 for a child aged three to seventeen, with residents of East African Community and Southern African Development Community states exempt. The portals are inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz for the mainland and inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz for Zanzibar. The mainland rule is days old as we write, so confirm the details there. It does not replace your own policy, which must still cover medical evacuation. For climbers, see insurance that covers 5,895 metres.

One more rule is checked at the airport. Plastic carrier bags have been banned in mainland Tanzania since 1 June 2019, and passengers are asked to hand them over on arrival. The Vice President’s Office notice allows the zip-lock bags used for toiletries. Beyond that, bring cash for what a visa does not cover: our guide to money, cards and cash explains what to carry. The questions page has our short answers, and we repeat the current rules when you plan a trip with us.

Next: Questions ↓Contents ↑

Questions people ask

At the time of writing (October 2026), Tanzania Immigration lists the Ordinary single-entry tourist visa at USD 50, valid for up to 90 days. US passport holders must take the Multiple visa, which costs USD 100 and is valid for one year. Check the current fee at visa.immigration.go.tz before you pay.

Yes, for most nationalities, at official entry points including Kilimanjaro International Airport. Tanzania Immigration recommends applying online instead, and the queue on arrival can be long. Some nationalities, listed on the Immigration site, cannot get a visa on arrival and must apply in advance.

Tanzania Immigration states that online applications are processed within ten days, apart from the referral category, which takes longer. We suggest applying three to four weeks before you travel. If nothing has arrived, you can check the status and download the grant notice on the visa portal.

Only if you are arriving from a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission, or have spent more than 12 hours in transit in one. Travellers flying directly from Europe, North America or the Gulf do not need one. Arriving from Kenya, Uganda or Ethiopia, you do.

None is required for entry, apart from the yellow fever rule. TravelHealthPro advises hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid for most travellers, and others for some. The CDC also asks that routine vaccinations are up to date. See a travel clinic six to eight weeks before departure for advice that fits you.

The CDC and TravelHealthPro both advise antimalarial tablets for all areas of Tanzania below 1,800 metres, which includes the main safari parks and Zanzibar. Which tablet suits you is a decision for a doctor or travel clinic. Avoiding bites in the evening matters as much as the tablets.

No. Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania, and Immigration states that one visa covers both the mainland and Zanzibar. You choose your first destination on the form. You do need the compulsory inbound travel insurance for whichever of the two you enter first.

Yes. Zanzibar has required its own inbound insurance since October 2024, and mainland Tanzania introduced the same requirement on 1 October 2026. You buy one policy, for your first point of entry, valid for up to 92 days. It is in addition to your normal travel insurance, not instead of it.

Last updated 3 October 2026

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