Tanzania Visa for UAE Residents: The e-Visa, Zanzibar's Insurance and Fees

The short answer: most UAE residents need a visa for Tanzania, and the same visa covers Zanzibar: there is no separate Zanzibar visa. Emiratis, and Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and British passport holders all need one. The official route is the e-visa at visa.immigration.go.tz, run by Tanzania's Immigration Services Department: an Ordinary (single entry) visa costs USD 50 and is valid for 90 days. A visa on arrival exists at Tanzania's airports, including Zanzibar's, but Pakistani and Bangladeshi passport holders cannot use it and must apply online first. Zanzibar also requires its own mandatory inbound travel insurance, USD 44 an adult, bought only through the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation. Since 1 October 2026, Tanzania Mainland has introduced the same kind of mandatory insurance for anyone arriving there first.

Zanzibar's beaches, Stone Town and the spice farms are a short hop from Dar es Salaam, and the Tanzanian mainland adds the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Kilimanjaro, all within reach of a flight from Dubai. The paperwork has more moving parts than most East African trips: a visa, now two separate compulsory insurance schemes depending on where you land first, and rules that differ by passport. Here is what each group of UAE residents needs.

Tanzania visa for UAE residents at a glance

Question	Answer (October 2026)
Does one visa cover Zanzibar and the mainland?	Yes, the same visa covers both; choose your first destination on the form
Emirati passport	Visa required; e-visa or visa on arrival
India, Philippines, Egypt, UK	Visa required; e-visa or visa on arrival
Pakistan, Bangladesh	Visa required; e-visa only, no visa on arrival
Sri Lanka	Tanzania's own guidelines are inconsistent here; confirm before you book (see below)
Where to apply	Online at visa.immigration.go.tz (recommended), at the embassy in Abu Dhabi, or on arrival if your passport allows it
Ordinary visa fee	USD 50, single entry, valid 90 days
Processing	Online: within 10 working days. At the embassy: a minimum of 5 working days
Zanzibar inbound insurance	Mandatory, about USD 44 an adult, via the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation
Tanzania Mainland inbound insurance	Mandatory since 1 October 2026 if Mainland is your first entry point
Yellow fever certificate	Not required on a direct or connecting flight from the UAE

Who needs a Tanzania visa

Tanzania's Immigration Services Department exempts nationals of East African Community and most Southern African Development Community countries, and Commonwealth countries other than the UK, Canada, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand. The UAE is not on this list, so your UAE residence does not change anything: what matters is your passport.

• Emiratis: a visa is required. The UAE is listed among the nationalities that can use either the online e-visa or a visa on arrival.
• Indian, Filipino, Egyptian and British passport holders: a visa is required, and all four are on Immigration's list of nationalities that can apply online or get a visa on arrival.
• Pakistani and Bangladeshi passport holders: a visa is required, and both are on the list of nationalities that cannot get a visa on arrival. Apply for the e-visa online before you fly.
• Sri Lankan passport holders: Tanzania's own guidelines are not fully consistent. One section says Commonwealth countries are exempt from a visa except seven named countries, which on a literal reading would exempt Sri Lanka. But the same guidelines separately list Sri Lanka among the nationalities eligible for an e-visa or a visa on arrival, which only makes sense if a visa is required. We have followed the per-country list, which is what the e-visa system itself applies. If you hold a Sri Lankan passport, confirm your status on the e-visa portal or with the Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi before you book flights.

How to apply for the Tanzania e-visa

1. Apply only at visa.immigration.go.tz, the official portal of Tanzania's Immigration Services Department. The guidelines warn applicants to use this site and no other.
2. Register with your email. You will get a User Identification Number to track the application and download your visa grant notice later.
3. Fill in the form. If you plan to see both Zanzibar and the mainland, pick whichever you land in first: you do not need a second visa for the other.
4. Upload your photo and documents, then pay the visa fee online by Visa or Mastercard.
5. Wait for your visa grant notice by email, usually within ten working days, and carry a copy when you fly. Holding a visa grant notice is not a guarantee of entry: the immigration officer at the airport makes the final decision.

Documents

• Passport valid for at least six months, with at least one blank visa page
• A colour digital photo on a plain background, under 500KB, in JPG or JPEG format
• Your return ticket
• The completed application and declaration form, filled in online
• Payment of the visa fee

Every passport holder needs their own application, including children travelling with their parents.

Visa on arrival: who can use it, and Zanzibar's own airport

Tanzania allows a visa on arrival at official entry points, which include Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport as well as the mainland airports: it is one visa system, not two. Immigration's own guidelines and the Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi both recommend applying online instead, because a visa grant notice issued in advance cannot be refused at the point of entry the way a fresh application can. Emirati, Indian, Filipino, Egyptian, British and (on the evidence available) Sri Lankan passport holders can choose either route. Pakistani and Bangladeshi passport holders cannot get a visa on arrival and must have the e-visa approved before they travel.

Fees and processing time

Tanzania's fees are set by visa type, not by passport, with one exception worth knowing before you choose where to apply:

• Ordinary (single entry) visa: USD 50, valid up to 90 days. This is what most tourists apply for.
• Multiple entry visa: USD 100, valid one year, with a maximum stay of 90 days on each visit.
• The Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi's own fee table lists Emirati citizens on the USD 100 multiple-entry visa as their standard tourist visa option when applying through the embassy, while non-UAE citizens there pay USD 50 for single entry or USD 100 for double entry. If you apply online instead of through the embassy, the standard Ordinary visa is USD 50 for every nationality except Americans. Check which option is offered to you before you pay.
• Processing: the online portal says applications are processed within ten working days. The embassy in Abu Dhabi says five working days for its regular service, with a next-day service for an extra USD 50 and a same-day service for an extra USD 100.
• Payment at the embassy: cash is not accepted. The embassy takes credit cards, cheques and money orders made payable to the Embassy of Tanzania in Abu Dhabi; a foreign cheque carries an extra bank fee.

Zanzibar's mandatory travel insurance

Since 1 October 2024, Zanzibar has required all foreign visitors, other than Tanzanian residents, to hold Inbound Travel Insurance before they travel, covering their stay for up to 92 days. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar's own travel advisory says this must be bought only from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC), and warns that entry can be refused without it.

• Where to buy it: the official portal is inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz. ZIC's own site states the cost as USD 44 per adult and USD 22 per child.
• It applies regardless of other cover. ZIC says this insurance is required even if you already hold travel or medical insurance from elsewhere.
• It is separate from your visa. Having a Tanzania visa does not cover this requirement, and vice versa.

Tanzania Mainland now has the same kind of requirement

From 1 October 2026, Tanzania Mainland introduced its own mandatory inbound travel insurance, bought through the National Insurance Corporation (NIC) at inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz. ZIC's public notice on this change, issued 7 October 2026, sets out how the two schemes work together:

• Buy it from whichever territory you land in first. If Zanzibar is your first point of entry, use ZIC's portal; if the mainland is first, use NIC's.
• You do not need to buy it twice. A valid policy from either insurer covers later entries into the other territory within its 92-day validity.
• The fee: NIC's own portal does not show a price before you start an application. Several travel sites and agency guides report it at USD 44 per adult, the same as Zanzibar's. Confirm the amount shown at checkout on inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz before you pay.

This is a very recent change: if you booked your trip before October 2026, build in time to buy this cover before you fly, and keep the certificate and QR code on your phone or printed for both schemes.

Yellow fever and other health requirements

• Yellow fever into Tanzania from the UAE: the Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi's own FAQ says a yellow fever certificate isn't needed if you fly straight from the UAE, or only change planes on the way. If you are routing through a country with yellow fever risk, check the embassy's visa section first.
• Immunisation waivers: the embassy does not issue these itself. It recommends carrying a doctor's note, which Health Officers at the point of entry decide on.
• Ebola health surveillance: Tanzania's Ministry of Health runs an online Traveller's Health Surveillance form, separately for the mainland (afyamsafiri.moh.go.tz) and Zanzibar (a similar portal run by the Zanzibar health ministry). On the ministry's own wording, this applies to travellers who have been in or passed through a country with Ebola transmission, not to a routine trip from the UAE.

Taxes and costs to know about in Zanzibar

Zanzibar's Revenue Authority charges accommodation providers a Hotel Levy of up to 15 percent on the room rate, plus a separate Infrastructure Tax of USD 1 to 5 per person per night, depending on the hotel's star rating (USD 10 a night for an overwater room). Ask whether a quoted price includes them when you compare resorts.

Extending your stay

Tanzania's e-visa system is built for a single visit of up to 90 days and does not offer an online extension. Immigration's own public guidance is that extensions are not automatic: if you want to stay longer, contact an Immigration office in Tanzania before your current visa or visitor's pass expires, rather than assuming you can simply apply again at the border.

Flights from the UAE

• Dubai to Dar es Salaam: Emirates flies this route non-stop.
• Dubai to Zanzibar and Dubai to Dar es Salaam: flydubai flies both routes.
• Abu Dhabi to Zanzibar: Etihad flies this route non-stop.

Tanzania is one hour behind the UAE. From Sharjah, or for any other route, check the current timetables: UAE flight schedules saw disruption through parts of 2026, so confirm with the airline before you book.

Frequently asked questions

Do UAE residents need a visa for Tanzania?

Yes, almost all do, including Emiratis. Tanzania exempts East African, most Southern African and most Commonwealth nationalities, but the UAE is not on that list and neither are India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh or the UK.

Do UAE residents need a visa for Zanzibar?

Yes, the same Tanzania visa covers Zanzibar: there is no separate Zanzibar visa. Choose Zanzibar or the mainland as your first destination when you apply, and you can visit both without applying again.

How much is the Tanzania e-visa from Dubai?

The standard Ordinary visa is USD 50 for a single entry of up to 90 days, applied for online at visa.immigration.go.tz. Emiratis applying through the Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi are offered a USD 100 multiple-entry visa instead as the embassy's standard tourist option.

Is there a visa on arrival for Zanzibar?

Yes, at Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, for the same nationalities eligible for Tanzania's visa on arrival generally. Pakistani and Bangladeshi passport holders cannot use it and must get the e-visa in advance. Applying online before you fly is recommended either way.

Do I need travel insurance for Zanzibar?

Yes. Since 1 October 2024, Zanzibar has required mandatory inbound travel insurance for all foreign visitors, bought only through the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation at inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz, at USD 44 per adult. Tanzania Mainland introduced a similar requirement from 1 October 2026.

Do I need a yellow fever certificate for Tanzania from Dubai?

No, not on a direct flight or an ordinary connection. The Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi says the certificate is not compulsory travelling straight from the UAE or connecting through any other airport, though it is worth checking the embassy's visa section if your routing passes through a country with yellow fever risk.

Planning a trip to Tanzania

A week is enough to combine a few days on Zanzibar's beaches with a short mainland safari; add more time if you want to see the Serengeti's migration or climb Kilimanjaro. See our visa services for help with the e-visa and insurance paperwork, browse holiday packages, or talk to us about flights, safaris and Zanzibar resorts.

Related guides

• Kenya visa for UAE residents
• Egypt visa for UAE residents
• Maldives visa for UAE residents
• Visa-free countries for UAE residents

Last checked 9 October 2026 against Tanzania's official e-visa portal and guidelines, the Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi's visa fee, entry requirements and FAQ pages, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar's travel advisory, the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation and its 7 October 2026 public notice on Tanzania Mainland's new insurance requirement, the Zanzibar Revenue Authority, Tanzania's Ministry of Health traveller portal and the Emirates, flydubai and Etihad websites. This guide is general information, not immigration advice. Confirm the current requirements with Tanzania's Immigration Services Department, the Tanzanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, or the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation before you travel.