While planning to travel to Uganda, one of the essential things is getting Ugandan Visa. Here is the knowledge you need to know about all Uganda Visa, fees and what kind of Visa you are supposed to apply for in order to visit in Uganda. Travel visas for Uganda are required for entry and stay into Uganda for short periods of time. The duration of stay starts from a few hours stay to periods of 3 months+.
Would you like to acquire travel visa? This is the easiest to apply for Uganda when visiting Uganda. If you are looking to visiting other East African countries like Kenya and Rwanda, the East African visa is the best option for you. The traveler’s passport should have a validity of at least six months. This period applies to not when you apply for travel visas to Uganda but from your intended date of entry.
Visa Exemptions
Every visitor to Uganda is required to obtain travel visa. Exemptions to the requirement for travel visas for Uganda is only to nationals from Members of COMESA. These include; Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Eritrea, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Other exempt nationalities are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malta, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga, Vanuatu, Italy (only diplomatic passport holders) and Cyprus.
Applications for travel visas to Uganda can be made at the appropriate Ugandan Embassies abroad or online using the link here. Also, Ugandan visas are issued at the entry and exit points of Uganda like
- Entebbe Airport for Air Travelers
- Busia border or Malaba border for entry from Kenya
- Mutukura Border for entry from Tanzania
- Katuna Border or Kyanika Border for entry from Rwanda
- Bunagana Border and Vura Border for entry from the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Nimule Border for travels from South Sudan
A Single entry visa is valid for up to three months from the date of issue and costs around US$50 at entry point in Uganda. A six-month multiple entry visa costs US$100. Other categories of multiple entry visas (12 months, 24 months & 36 months) can be applied for, at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kampala. For more information on these other categories of multiple entry visas can be got from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Visa fees must be paid in cash or a postal money order payable to Uganda High Commission, on submission of visa application. Cheques are not accepted. One should know that visa fee is non-refundable and do vary from country to country.
Visa Guides for Selected Countries
ETHIOPIA
If coming from a country where there’s no Ethiopian mission you can acquire a visa at entry points. No multiple entry visas are offered. Visas take 2 working days to process. Transit visas are for a maximum of 3 days. Tourist visas are for a maximum of 3 months and cost US$50. There is an Ethiopian embassy in Kampala.
KENYA
Kenya Airways has made visa application forms available on their website for visitors to kenya. By visiting www.kenya-airways.com, travellers can download, complete, print out and sign the visa application forms, which they can then present for processing at any of Kenya’s point of entry. Kenya offers Transit( Maximum 0f 7 days, US$20), Single Entry (US$50) and Multiple (One Year – US$110) visas. Single Entry visas permit travel to Uganda and Tanzania and re-entry to Kenya. Travel elsewhere, i.e. Rwanda, will forfeit this.
RWANDA
Ugandans, Americans and Germans do not require visas. British and South Africans do require visas but they are acquired free of charge. Others must get a visa before proceeding to Rwanda. Transit visas (7 days), Entry (3 months) and Multiple (3 months) are offered. Visas can be obtained on the same day depending on how the application satisfies the embassy. The visa section in kampala is open Monday to Friday 9 a.m-12 noon
TANZANIA
Residents of Commonwealth countries(except India, Nigeria, Canada, Australia, Newzealand and the UK)do not require visas to Tanzania. Neither do Namibians, Irish, Romanians and Rwandese. If coming from a country where there’s no Tanzanian Mission, visas can be obtained at points of entry. The same visa allows you to enter Zanzibar. Visa fees vary. For example : Canada US$50, Belgium US$40, Mexico US$35, Austria US$30, South Africa US$51, UK US$50. Transit visas last a maximum of 2 weeks. No multiple entry visas are offered.
SUDAN
Visas are charged at US$30 for single entry and US$100 for multiple entries. A visa is required prior to entry into Sudan and can take up to a week to process. Currently the embassy in kampala is only open for visas on tuesday and friday. Under certain circumstances a visa may be issued at the port of entry.
Key points to note by the traveler are;
Entry should be made only through the country’s gazetted ports of entrance/exit. All arriving visitors will be required to fill in arrival declaration cards on arrival. The cards are available at the arrival lounge.
No arriving visitors should carry on good prohibited by customs. Visitors should not overstay their visa validity otherwise they will be subjected to pay a fine per day.
Where visitors seek to stay longer than the period granted on arrival, extension of the period should be sought from the Immigration Headquarters in Kampala before the expiry of the initial visitor’s pass.
All visitors must comply with immigration legislation and other national laws of the country during their stay in Uganda.