Dear All,

I have applied for a Tanzanian Visa and sent all the required documents and fees to the embassy , however , after taking around 3 weeks I called the embassy and they told me that the Visa printer is not working and it may take one month to fix it and I’m traveling on the 8 th of January !!!!!!!

The embassy instead sent me a letter signed the ambassador ( with the embassy letter head and official stamp ) titled : Tourism visa and addressed to the immigration officer at the airport requesting him to allow the travelers ( with full details such as : name and passport number) to enter the country .

I called the embassy and they assured me that this letter will act as a visa at the airport and I will have no troubles at all .Has had the same experience ???? I’m little bit worried

Next time, get it in arrival...JRO's arrival/visa unit is a hole in the wall in 1 room and easy to find.

I am sure you will be ok considering you have the Ambassador's letter for the IO.

Zuri Bahati, Safari Njema!

Dont worry you will be ok. In the worst case scenario you can still get the visa on arrival at the airport.
Just bring 2 photos and around 50$ with you

If your country of origin allows visas upon arrival to Tanzania, no problem.

Worst case, you might need to pay again. For US citizens it is $100. As for the photos, it's a good idea to always travel with a couple of them (and I do) but don't think you need them when acquiring the visa on arrival.

Getting your visa on arrival is common and an easy process. It's a good way to avoid being separated from your passport.

Think of this blip as your first humorous travel tale and concentrate on having a wonderful trip. A month to fix the visa printer--priceless. Thanks for sharing.

If you time in Tanzania is being arranged by a tour operator, be sure they are aware of your situation and arrange for them to have their rep at Immigration to assist if you should run into any problems.

Otherwise, believe the letter should suffice... fingers crossed.

Yup, a month to repair printer... priceless!

If you time in Tanzania is being arranged by a tour operator, be sure they are aware of your situation and arrange for them to have their rep at Immigration to assist if you should run into any problems.

Otherwise, believe the letter should suffice... fingers crossed.

Yup, a month to repair printer... priceless!

Thank you all ......

I'm not a US citizen , I can't get the Visa on arrival I have to apply for it in the embassy here.

How can anyone say they have had the same experience if you don;t say what nationality you are?

what difference will it make if I say my nationality...I'm Saudi

the bottom line is that my country of origin doesn't allow visas upon arrival to Tanzania. I think I was clear from the beginning.

<<what difference will it make if I say my nationality......the bottom line is that my country of origin doesn't allow visas upon arrival to Tanzania. I think I was clear from the beginning.>>

No, this was not at all clear from your original post.

If you had said in your original post that you were Saudi or that because of your nationality you cannot get a visa upon arrival.......THEN there would not have been several posters telling you that you could get it at the airport.

The majority (altho certainly not all) posters on this forum are from the US, so unless a poster specifies otherwise - the general assumption is that people are traveling with US passports.

I hope it all works out for you. Good luck.

Ahmad - your written English is perfect so I also assumed you were from USA, as are most posters here, like G3 said. I wish more posters here would simple put there home country on their Fodor's profile, I'm continually asking about it. Because, when someone says they are going on safari for 7 days this is reasonable if home is Europe but not if home is USA. In my opinion. Takes me about 28 hours, maybe more, travel time door-to-door, LAX to JNB. Not to mention more $$$.

FWIW, I'm going to Tanzania in Feb, LAX/California to JRO/Arusha, three flights, about 30 hours, my home to Arusha hotel. (Return time is 3 hours longer). Will get visa at JRO, $100 for we rich Americans.

So, what are your plans now?

regards - tom

just to add; im not assuming everyone is from the US, but Europeans (most?) can get visa on arrival as well. I just didn't know there were countries of origin that wouldn't allow this..
(Doesn't seem to make sense does it?, why allow it to get up front but not on arrival?)

... and then there are visitors from certain countries that do NOT require a Visa for entry to Tanzania.

So, yes... it is a good idea for posters to mention from where and even under which passport they're traveling.

I'm sure that under the circumstance where the Embassy in Saudi couldn't provide Visa due to printer issues, having letter from Ambassador will help and all will be fine.

And, again... be sure your outfitter or contacts in Tanzania are aware of your situation and be there at Immigration to assist if you run into problems. Alternative would be that you have to pay again, but hopefully not!

Ahmad,

As Sandi has urged you, notify the Tanzanian company you are working with and ask they be present with all phone #s that might be needed for a smooth landing for you.

Let us know how this turns out.

Even with the inability to purchase a visa upon arrival, I still hope this is your first funny travel tale of a successful trip.

20 more days until we depart for Tanzania - Youppi! We're planning to obtain our VISAs at the Kili airport. Does anyone know the VISA cost for us Canadians + one Japanese friend? Thanks

For us americans, it is $100 (1 yr, multiple entry)

Non U.S. passports visa fee is $50.00 for single entry and $100 for double entry.

http://www.tanzaniaembassy-us.org/tzevisa.html

Thanks TigerPhotog!