12 Tanzania received 5.36 million international visitors in 2024, broke its own arrival record a full year ahead of schedule, and was named the World’s Leading Safari Destination at the 2025 World Travel Awards. According to the Tanzania Tourism Board, the country is targeting 8 million visitors annually by 2030 and has set a USD 6 billion tourism revenue target for 2026. Zanzibar alone recorded 100,216 visitors in January 2026, a 19.2% year-on-year increase. And yet the question that precedes almost every Tanzania booking for UK, US, and European travellers is the same one: do I need to sort the visa in advance, or can I get it at the airport? The answer involves a choice between two legitimate options: a cash-only rule that catches travellers out every peak season, and a cost structure that depends entirely on which passport you are carrying. There are also two new mandatory fees introduced in 2025 and 2026 that most guides have not yet incorporated. This article gives you the complete and verified picture. Tanzania’s Dual-Track Entry System: e-Visa vs Visa on Arrival Tanzania operates two legitimate visa pathways for most Western visitors: the e-visa, applied for online before departure, and the visa on arrival obtained at the port of entry. Both grant the same tourist permissions, the same duration of stay, and the same fee. According to the official Tanzania Immigration Services guidelines, the government recommends the online platform and states this clearly at the top of its visa guidance. The recommendation exists because the e-visa removes the cash requirement and typically results in faster processing at the immigration counter. Applications are submitted through visa.immigration.go.tz, the only legitimate government portal. Processing takes up to ten business days. Approved applicants receive a visa grant notice by email, which must be printed and presented to the immigration officer on arrival. The grant notice is not itself an entry guarantee: the immigration officer retains the right to refuse entry if entry conditions are not met. Tanzania does not offer visa-free access to the UK, the US, or most European passport holders. Every visitor in these categories requires a visa, either obtained in advance or on arrival. Verified Cost: What UK and US Travellers Pay in 2026 The fee structure is split by nationality. The US-specific requirement is the detail most general travel guides present incorrectly or omit entirely. UK and European citizens pay USD 50 for an Ordinary Visa. This is a single-entry tourist visa valid for up to 90 days, confirmed by the Tanzania Immigration Department’s official fee schedule. The ordinary visa covers tourism, attending meetings, and visiting friends or family. It does not permit paid work. US citizens are in a separate category. American passport holders are required to apply for a multiple-entry visa costing $100, valid for one year from the date of issue, with stays of up to 90 days per entry. This is confirmed by the US State Department’s Tanzania entry page. There is no single-entry option for US citizens. The USD 100 fee applies whether applying online or on arrival. Two New Mandatory Fees in Effect From 2025 and 2026 Two additional government-imposed charges now apply to all foreign visitors entering Tanzania. Both are verified and in effect. Neither appears on the standard Tanzania visa information page, which is why travellers encounter them as surprises at the point of booking or arrival. Mandatory Travel Insurance: USD 44 per person. Introduced under Tanzania’s 2025/2026 fiscal budget, this non-refundable fee applies to all foreign non-residents entering mainland Tanzania. The policy is administered through the National Insurance Corporation and covers medical emergencies, accidents, and baggage loss. The valid policy period is 62 days from the date of purchase, confirmed by the Africa Tourism Industry Council report. EAC member state citizens are exempt. Zanzibar operates a separate but parallel scheme through the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation at the same USD 44 rate for adults, with a USD 22 discounted rate for children aged 3 to 17. Infants under 3 are exempt in Zanzibar. Passenger Facilitation Fee: USD 45 one-way, USD 90 return. This fee applies to all international passengers and has been in effect since November 1, 2025. Crucially, it is not paid at the airport — it is added automatically to the airline ticket price at the time of booking. Travellers will see it incorporated into their fare rather than presented as a separate countercharge. Children under 2, airline crew, and rerouted passengers are exempt. Refunds are available for unused or cancelled flights. The purpose of the fee is to fund the installation of advanced passenger information and electronic border control systems at Tanzanian airports. The Three Airports Where Visa on Arrival Is Available Visa on arrival in Tanzania is available at three international airports, as confirmed by the Tanzania Immigration Services’ official list of entry points. Land border crossings also offer a visa on arrival for eligible nationalities, but the three air entry points are the primary routes for international tourists. Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam (DAR). The largest airport in Tanzania and the primary hub for long-haul international connections from Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Julius Nyerere is the entry point for travellers combining the mainland safari circuit with Zanzibar, either by domestic flight or by ferry from Dar es Salaam port. Kilimanjaro International Airport, Arusha (JRO). The gateway airport for the northern safari circuit, covering Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, and Lake Manyara. Most safari operators based in Arusha instruct clients to fly directly into JRO. Brussels Airlines launches two weekly flights between Kilimanjaro and Brussels from June 2026, expanding direct access to Europe. Zanzibar International Airport, Unguja Island (ZNZ). The entry point for travellers flying directly to the archipelago. A valid Tanzania visa covers both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar — no separate Zanzibar visa is required. Travellers flying from the mainland to Zanzibar on a domestic connection pass through a secondary immigration check, which is standard procedure and requires the same documentation as the original entry. Note that Zanzibar’s mandatory insurance is purchased separately through visitzanzibar.go.tz, and arrival at ZNZ without it may cause delays at the immigration counter. The Cash-Only Rule: What Catches Travellers Out Every Year This is the most consistently underreported practical detail in Tanzania visa guidance, and it creates avoidable problems at all three airports every peak season. Visa-on-arrival counters at Tanzanian airports do not accept credit or debit cards. Payment is in USD cash only. Travellers who land without the correct cash face a delay that no airport ATM reliably solves. ATM availability at Tanzanian airports is inconsistent: some machines accept Visa cards, many do not, and availability changes without notice. Carrying the exact fee in US dollars before boarding is the only reliable solution. Tanzania does not accept US dollar bills printed before 2009. Notes that are damaged, torn, or heavily marked are also regularly rejected. Travellers should request post-2009 bills in clean, undamaged condition from their bank before departure. Immigration officers at all three airports apply this consistently. Given that applying for the e-visa costs the same as applying for the e-visa, eliminates the cash requirement, and allows online payment by Visa or Mastercard through the official portal, applying for the e-visa in advance is the better option for most travellers. The visa on arrival is legitimate and works, but it requires specific preparation that the e-visa route eliminates. Documents Required at the Immigration Counter Whether presenting an e-visa approval or applying on arrival, the following documents are required at all three airports. The Tanzania Tourism Board recommends confirming entry requirements at tanzaniatourism.go.tz/plan-your-trip before departure. Passport valid for at least six months beyond the intended arrival date. Confirmed in the official Tanzania Immigration Services guidelines. Officers check this at the counter and will not process a visa if the passport is missing information. Return or onward travel confirmation. A confirmed return flight or confirmed onward ticket. The official guidelines state that visitors must show their return ticket upon arrival. First-night accommodation or tour operator details. Both the paper form at the counter and the online application ask for a host contact. Provide the name and address of your first hotel or your tour operator. Do not leave this blank. Yellow fever certificate. Required for all travellers arriving from countries where yellow fever is endemic, including those transiting through high-risk countries for 12 hours or more. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Tanzania travel page maintains the full list. Printed e-visa grant notice. If you applied online, print the grant notice before departure. Immigration officers at all three airports request a physical copy. Do not rely on a screenshot or airport Wi-Fi. Nationalities That Cannot Use the Visa on Arrival Kilimanjaro International Airport. The official Tanzania Immigration Services referral visa list names 24 nationalities that cannot obtain a visa on arrival under any circumstances. These include nationals of Nigeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, among others. Travellers in this category must apply through the online portal and obtain approval from the Commissioner General of Immigration in Dar es Salaam before travelling. The process takes a minimum of two months. Arriving at a Tanzanian airport without a visa approval results in deportation. EAC member-state nationals, including those of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan, do not require a visa to enter Tanzania. Several SADC and Commonwealth member states are also exempt. However, the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Australia, and New Zealand are specifically excluded from the Commonwealth exemption and require a visa. Travellers uncertain about their status should check the Tanzania Immigration Services visa eligibility page before booking. The RCA Argument Tanzania’s visa-on-arrival system is functional, well-documented by the Tanzania Tourism Board, and available at designated airports. What it is not is simple, and the gap between “visa on arrival available” and “visa on arrival is the easy option” is precisely where most pre-trip confusion originates. Guides that lead with the visa-on-arrival option without naming the cash-only rule, the pre-2009 bill restriction, the mandatory USD 44 insurance fee, and the passenger facilitation charge already embedded in every international airline ticket are not informing travellers. They are leaving them to discover these details at the immigration counter after a 10-hour flight. Tanzania received 5.36 million visitors in 2024 and is building the infrastructure to receive 8 million by 2030. The Tanzania Tourism Board has the destination marketing rights. What the wider travel media ecosystem has not kept pace with is the entry cost structure that those visitors now face on arrival. The visa fee is the headline. The USD 44 insurance, the USD 45 or USD 90 facilitation fee, the cash-only counter, and the pre-2009 bill rule are the story. A destination targeting USD 6 billion in tourism revenue for 2026 deserves guides accurate enough to match its ambitions. ALSO READ: Who Owns the Safari? A Clear-Eyed Account of Where Safari Revenue Goes and What Conservation Tourism Returns to Local Economies Zanzibar vs Seychelles: The Real Differences and Which One Is Actually Worth the Price Intra-African Travel: The Fastest-Growing Segment in Continental Tourism and the Most Underreported Story in African Travel Media FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. Can UK citizens get a visa on arrival in Tanzania in 2026? Yes. UK passport holders are eligible for a visa on arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam (DAR), Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), and Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ), as confirmed by the official entry point list of the Tanzania Immigration Services. The cost is USD 50, paid in cash, USD only, using post-2009 bills. The e-visa at visa.immigration.go.tz costs the same and is the recommended option, as it removes the cash requirement. 2. How much does a visa to Tanzania cost for US citizens in 2026? US citizens are required to obtain a multiple-entry visa costing USD 100, confirmed by the US State Department and the Tanzania Immigration Department’s official fee schedule. There is no single-entry option for American passport holders. The visa is valid for one year from the date of issue and permits stays of up to 90 days per entry. This fee applies whether applying online or on arrival. 3. What is the mandatory travel insurance fee in Tanzania in 2026? Tanzania introduced a mandatory travel insurance fee of USD 44 per person in its 2025/2026 fiscal budget. The non-refundable policy covers medical emergencies, accidents, and baggage loss and is valid for 62 days from the date of purchase. EAC member state citizens are exempt. Zanzibar operates a parallel scheme at the same rate through the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, with a discounted USD 22 rate for children aged 3 to 17. 4. Which airports in Tanzania offer a visa on arrival? Visa on arrival is available at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam (DAR), Kilimanjaro International Airport near Arusha (JRO), and Zanzibar International Airport on Unguja Island (ZNZ). All three airports are confirmed entry points on the Tanzania Immigration Services website. 5. Do I need a separate visa for Zanzibar? No. A valid Tanzania visa covers both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. You do not need a separate visa. Travellers flying from the mainland to Zanzibar on a domestic connection pass through a secondary immigration check requiring the same documents as the initial entry. However, Zanzibar’s mandatory travel insurance of USD 44 per adult is a separate purchase made through visitzanzibar.go.tz, and arrival at ZNZ without it may cause delays. Plan your Tanzania trip with guidance from the Tanzania Tourism Board and explore more East Africa travel guides on Rex Clarke Adventures. African travel requirementsEast Africa travel guidetravel planning Africavisa on arrival Africa 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTelegramEmail Rex Clarke I am a published author, writer, blogger, social commentator, and passionate environmentalist. My first book, "Malakhala-Taboo Has Run Naked," is a critical-poetic examination of human desire. It Discusses religion, dictatorship, political correctness, cultural norms, war, relationships, love, and climate change. I spent my early days in the music industry writing songs for recording artists in the 1990s; after that, I became more immersed in the art and then performed in stage plays. My love of writing led me to work as an independent producer for television stations in southern Nigeria. I am a lover of the conservation of wildlife and the environment.