Sorting your Zanzibar visa is the one bit of admin that stands between you and your first session on the Paje lagoon. Good news: it is simple. There is one visa, one mandatory insurance, and a couple of things to have ready before you fly. We have walked thousands of riders through this since 2007, so here is the honest, no-jargon version for 2026.
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One thing to clear up first. Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, so you buy a normal Tanzania visa and it covers both the mainland and the islands. Zanzibar then adds its own small insurance on top. That is the whole picture. Everything below is just the detail.
In short
- Most travellers need a visa. A single-entry tourist visa is USD 50 and lets you stay up to 90 days.
- Get the e-visa before you fly. Apply at the official site, allow 2 to 3 weeks, skip the airport queue.
- Visa on arrival still works at Zanzibar airport for 160-plus nationalities, USD 50 cash or card.
- US passport holders pay USD 100 for a multiple-entry visa. That is the only option open to you, not a choice.
- The Zanzibar insurance is separate and mandatory. USD 44 per adult, bought online, valid up to 92 days.
- Passport: valid 6 months, one blank page. Yellow fever only matters if you connect through certain countries.
Do you need a visa for Zanzibar?
Almost certainly yes. Visitors from the UK, the US, most of Europe, Australia, Canada and New Zealand all need a tourist visa. So do most Commonwealth and Asian nationalities.
The short list of people who do not need one: citizens of East African Community countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the rest) and most southern African (SADC) states. If you hold one of those passports you walk straight through. Everyone reading this in English from Europe or North America needs a visa, so let us sort that.
Option 1: the e-visa (do this one)
This is the route we tell every guest to take. You apply online before you travel, your visa is approved by email, and you land with the paperwork already done.
- Where: the official Tanzania immigration portal at eservices.immigration.go.tz. Only that site. There are dozens of copycat “evisa” pages that charge you double for the same thing, so type the address yourself and ignore the ads.
- Cost: USD 50 for a single-entry tourist visa, paid by card.
- How long it takes: the official answer is up to 10 days. In practice most come back in 3 to 10 working days. In the busy seasons (July to September, December to January) it can run closer to two weeks.
- When to apply: give yourself 2 to 3 weeks before you fly. Sort it early, then forget about it.
- What you get: a stay of up to 90 days, which is far more than any kite trip needs.
Print the approval, or at least screenshot it. You show it at immigration in Zanzibar alongside your passport.
Option 2: visa on arrival
Still alive and well at Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume airport in 2026, whatever you might read elsewhere. If you run out of time for the e-visa, you can pay on landing.
- Cost: USD 50 single-entry, the same USD 100 for US passport holders.
- How you pay: card usually works, but carry clean USD cash as a backup. Notes must be printed after 2013 and in good shape. Tatty or older bills get handed straight back.
- Who can use it: more than 160 nationalities, including all the usual Western ones.
The catch is the queue. Land at the same time as two other flights and visa on arrival can eat 30 to 60 minutes while the e-visa crowd strolls past. After a long-haul flight in the heat, that line is no fun. Do the e-visa if you possibly can.
A few nationalities (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and a handful of others) cannot use visa on arrival and need a pre-approved referral visa. If that is you, start early and apply through the official portal well ahead of time.
The mandatory Zanzibar insurance
This is the part older guides miss, so read this bit even if you have been to Zanzibar before. Since October 2024 every visitor to Zanzibar has to buy a government inbound insurance policy. It is separate from your visa and separate from your own travel insurance. No policy, no entry.
- Cost: USD 44 per adult. Children 3 to 17 are USD 22. Under 3s are free.
- Covers: up to 92 days from arrival, with emergency medical and evacuation cover built in.
- Where to buy: the official portal at visitzanzibar.go.tz, run by the state insurer. You get a QR-code receipt to show at the airport. You can also buy it on arrival if you forget, but doing it online before you fly is quicker.
- Mainland or islands: Zanzibar only. The mainland does not ask for it. If you fly into Dar or Kilimanjaro first and hop over to Zanzibar after, you still buy it for the island leg.
One thing people always ask: no, your own travel insurance does not get you out of this. It is a government charge you pay on top. We still strongly recommend carrying your own policy as well, and making sure it actually covers kitesurfing as a sport. Plenty of standard policies quietly exclude it. More on that in our kitesurf trip cost guide.
Passport, yellow fever and the small print
Passport. Valid for at least 6 months beyond your trip, with at least one blank page for the stamp. Check the expiry date now, not at the airport.
Yellow fever. Only an issue depending on where you fly from. You need a yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from, or have spent more than 12 hours connecting through, a country with yellow fever risk. That catches a lot of African hub connections like Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Dar es Salaam. Fly in direct from Europe, the US or Dubai and you are fine without one. If you do need the jab, get it at least 10 days before you travel. The certificate is now valid for life.
A few last things to have ready:
- A return or onward ticket. They can ask for proof of it on arrival.
- Your hotel booking. Handy for the visa form and the occasional question at the desk.
- Declare cash if you are carrying over USD 10,000. Below that, no need.
What we sort for our guests
If you are joining us on a Kite and Stay package, we will remind you to do the e-visa and the insurance in good time, and we arrange your airport transfer so you walk out of arrivals straight to a waiting driver. We cannot apply for your visa for you (only you can, on the government site), but we will make sure you land with everything sorted and nothing forgotten. Questions before you book? Drop us a line on our contact page or WhatsApp +255 777 846 083.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for almost all visitors from Europe, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The main exceptions are citizens of East African Community and most SADC countries, who enter visa-free. A single-entry tourist visa costs USD 50 and covers a stay of up to 90 days.
Apply online at the official Tanzania immigration portal, eservices.immigration.go.tz. Fill in the form, upload a passport photo and your passport page, pay USD 50 by card, and wait for the approval email. Allow 2 to 3 weeks before travel. Avoid third-party sites that charge a markup for the same visa.
Yes. Visa on arrival is still available at Zanzibar airport for more than 160 nationalities, at USD 50 single-entry (USD 100 for US citizens). Bring clean USD cash printed after 2013 as a backup to card. The downside is the queue, which is why we recommend the e-visa.
USD 50 for a standard single-entry tourist visa. US passport holders must take the multiple-entry visa instead, which is USD 100 and valid for 12 months. On top of the visa, every visitor also pays the mandatory Zanzibar insurance: USD 44 per adult.
Yes. US passport holders cannot get the standard single-entry visa. You must take the multiple-entry visa at USD 100, valid for 12 months, with each individual stay capped at 90 days. This is a long-standing rule specific to US travellers.
Yes. Since October 2024 every visitor must buy the government inbound insurance, USD 44 per adult, valid up to 92 days, bought at visitzanzibar.go.tz. Your own travel insurance does not replace it. You show a QR-code receipt at immigration.
Up to 90 days on a single-entry tourist visa. The mandatory insurance covers up to 92 days, so the two line up for a long stay. Need longer? You buy a fresh insurance policy and look into a visa extension locally.
Land, sort it, ride
None of this is hard. Do the e-visa two to three weeks out, buy the insurance online, check your passport has 6 months on it, and you are done. Get the admin out of the way before you fly and the only thing left to think about on arrival is which kite to pump up first. Pole Pole. Karibu Zanzibar.
