What you need, in one paragraph
To enter Tanzania you need three things sorted before you board: a valid passport, a tourist visa, and (if you are heading to Zanzibar) the island’s separate insurance. The visa is roughly USD 50 [VERIFY] for a single entry and covers stays up to 90 days. Your passport must run at least 6 months past your arrival date and carry two blank pages. Yellow-fever proof only matters if you are coming from a risk country. Get the visa online in advance, and you will walk through Kilimanjaro or Zanzibar arrivals far faster than the people filling in forms at the desk.
The visa: eVisa beats on-arrival
There are two ways in. The official eVisa is applied for online before you travel; you upload a passport photo, your passport bio page, and a return or onward ticket, then wait for approval. In my experience approvals usually land within a few days to two weeks [VERIFY], so do not leave it to the last minute. Print the approval and carry it.
Visa-on-arrival still exists at Julius Nyerere (Dar es Salaam), Kilimanjaro (JRO) and Abeid Amani Karume (Zanzibar) airports. Same price, but you queue twice: once to pay, once at immigration. After a long-haul flight that can mean 45 minutes to over an hour [VERIFY] of standing around while the pre-approved travellers walk straight to the desk.
One honest warning on payment: use the official portal only. The genuine site is run by Tanzania Immigration, and there are convincing copycat sites that overcharge. If a site asks for a “service fee” well above the headline price, close it.
US citizens are a special case. You are typically issued a multiple-entry visa at around USD 100 [VERIFY] rather than the single-entry tourist visa, which is worth knowing before you balk at the price difference.
Passport, photos and the small print
Six months’ validity from your entry date is the rule airlines enforce hardest. If your passport expires in, say, four months, you will be stopped at check-in long before Tanzania ever sees you. Renew first.
You also want two genuinely blank pages, side by side. Immigration stamps are generous with space, and if you are combining Tanzania with another stamp-heavy itinerary you do not want to run out.
The passport photo for the eVisa trips people up more than anything. It needs a plain light background and your full face; a cropped holiday snap gets the application rejected and costs you days. Take two minutes to do it properly.
Yellow fever: when it actually applies
This is the most misunderstood requirement. Tanzania does not demand yellow-fever vaccination from everyone. It is required only if you are arriving from, or have transited for more than 12 hours through, a country with yellow-fever transmission risk, which includes much of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South America.
Fly in directly from Europe, the UK, North America, the Gulf or most of Asia and you will not be asked for the card. The grey area is transit: route through Nairobi or Addis Ababa from a risk country and you may be asked at Tanzanian immigration. If your itinerary touches any risk country, carry the certificate. It is a one-off vaccination and it removes any argument at the desk.
Zanzibar’s separate insurance rule
If your trip includes Zanzibar, and most of mine end on this coast, there is one extra step that catches people out. Since 2024 the Zanzibar government requires every inbound visitor to hold its own mandatory travel insurance, currently around USD 44 [VERIFY] for a stay of up to roughly 92 days. You buy it online through the official Zanzibar insurance portal before you arrive, and you may be asked to show the confirmation at the airport.
This is not the same as your Tanzania visa, and it is not a replacement for your own travel insurance, which you should still hold for medical cover and evacuation. Think of it as a separate ticket you tick off alongside the visa. I have watched guests get pulled aside at Zanzibar arrivals for not having it, so sort it the same week you do your visa.
What to skip
Skip paying any agent or third-party “visa service” that charges a markup to do the eVisa for you. The official portal is straightforward in English, and the only money that should leave your account is the government fee. The same goes for the Zanzibar insurance: buy it direct, not through an intermediary.
Before you fly: the short list
Sort the eVisa early, check your passport has 6 months and two blank pages, decide whether yellow fever applies to your route, and if Zanzibar is on the plan, buy the island insurance. Do those four and arrivals is a stamp and a smile.
For the island-specific detail, including the airport process at Karume, see our Zanzibar entry requirements guide. To plan the rest of the trip, start with the Tanzania travel overview.