titte

I'm going to Zanzibar in December and need a visa. How long do you have to queue
and wait for a touristvisa at the airport?
We do not have a Tanzanian Embassy in my country and applying for visa is therefore both more complicated and more expensive than getting one at the arrival. On the other hand I'm not very keen on spending hours at the immingrationoffice...
Titte

Nikao

do you fly straight to Zanzibar or via Dar?

sandi

From what country are you arriving/which passport are you holding (country)?

With few exceptions most visitors can simply purchase Visa on arrival.

Go to the Tanzania Embassy website for details of who can enter, others that may require referral, etc. If you can get on arrival, just download the application form, complete it, and on arrival go to the queue* "to purchase" with the proper amount due (most countries USD$50; US passport holders USD$100), and that's it.

*the queue for purchasing or those who already have can be long or short, varies from day-to-day and number of passengers arriving.

You will also require Yellow Fever inoculation for entry, along with proof of having had this (a yellow card/booklet provided by doc or clinic who gives the inoc).

titte

I'm coming from Finland(and have a Finnish passport)via Addis Abeba.
I cannot get a visa directly from the website, they require a foto and the passport posted.
To buy the visa at arrival would be the easyest way only if the procedure is not "eating" hours of my vacation.
Do I need the Yellow fever vaccination even coming from Finland? According to the information I've got I wouldn't.

sandi

If you can't download Visa application from the website, there will be applications on arrival. Just grab one, complete and go to the window/desk marked to purchase. With the correct fee due, as agents do not make change. Photos are NOT required if purchasing Visa on site.

Purchasing Visa on site does NOT eat into your vacation, unless 15/minutes is too long. You still have to wait for your luggage to come off the plane. You're in Africa... slow down and take a deep breath... you're on Africa-time!

Arriving from Addis (in the Yellow Fever zone), you will require a Yellow Fever inoculation (and proof of same) on arrival Zanzibar. If you don't have and agent feels you need it, they can just give it to you there, on the spot and you pay USD$50. Best to get this inoc at home and know it's good for 10/years.

titte

Thanks a lot. I've spent 7 hours once waiting for visa on the border between Zambia and Tanzania, that Africa I do not want to be in when my stay is so short as 15 days.
Anyway it sounds safe to get the visa on arrival.

JaneB

Just as an aside...the airport workers in the Zanzibar airport took the batteries out of our flashlights and charged us $1 US per person to get them back. This was 4 years ago.

sandi

JaneB - Batteries? For what reason? And, then ask for you to pay to get them back... ugh! That's a scam. Anything where someone is threatening or doing something (bribe) as you describe should be reported to a supervisor immediately. This is not permitted.

Seems in ZNZ they're more interested in batteries, than what tends to go missing out of baggage (even carry-on) in other countries; slick people.

Regardless where, it's uncalled for and should be stopped when it happens.

ShayTay

The TSA doesn't allow loose lithium batteries in luggage. When I went through Cairo in 2009, their airport security checkpoint people almost didn't let me through with rechargeable AA batteries. Several times, I've seen other countries trying to apply "TSA Rules" in their own country and not getting it quite right. I wonder if this was what JaneB was experiencing, or if it was a scam as Sandi notes.

JaneB

Definitely a scam. The AA batteries were inside a small flashlight that each of us had in our carryons. The batteries were taken out and then we were told that they would be returned for $1. We were just glad to get them back!

sandi

I only use AA rechargeables for my cameras; regular AA in my small Maglite flashlight, and never been asked about these whether in checked or carryon. It was, in JaneBs comment, <i>"pay $1/ea.pax to get them returned"</i>... that's <b>the scam</b> and doing that to hundreds of paxs daily builds a nice nest-egg for the few on duty any given day.

qwovadis

http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destin.../tanzania.html

You do NOT need YF jab coming directly from Finland.

They do require it if coming from a YF country usually

Kenya.

sandi

Regardless what it says on the CDC, or other government's health site or MDtravelhealth as qwovadis indicates, they are not only NOT current, but they do not make the rules.

Tanzania's Health Dept does, and even if arriving direct on Zanzibar from a non-yellow fever country (ie. USA, Europe, Australia, etc)... the Yellow Fever Inoc IS REQUIIRED, along with proof of same.

And, while checking for proof can be somewhat sloppy (sometimes they do, other times they don't) arriving only on Tanzania mainland - Kilimanjaro, Dar-es-Salaam or land border crossing - that's rarely the case for visitors arriving on Zanzibar. They check for proof!

Only if you qualify for a 'waiver' not to have - due to age, contraindication with other medications, or allergic to egg - you will need a letter from your physician, on his/her letterhead, to this effect "why you can't have the inoc."

These are the rules!