Entry requirements for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

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Visas and travel authorisations are issued only through each government’s official channels, and you apply for them in your own name. We can tell you which countries your route enters, so you know what to apply for.

Do I need an eTA or visa for Kenya?

Most visitors do. Kenya’s official eTA portal says that all visitors, including infants and children, must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation before the start of their journey, unless they are exempt under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Rules, 2025.

• Citizens of the East African Partner States (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda), for stays of up to 180 days.
• Nationals of a listed group of countries for up to 90 days, and of a listed group of African countries for up to 60 days.
• Holders of Kenyan permanent residence, valid work permits and passes, and valid re-entry passes.
• Passengers in transit who stay within the airport, and certain crew and holders of international organisations’ laissez-passers.

The portal says applications are usually processed in three days, offers an urgent service, and recommends applying at least two weeks before travel. It also stresses that an eTA is permission to travel, not the final authority to enter: admissibility is decided at the point of entry. The portal lists other eTA types, including a transit eTA and a multiple-entry option, so check which applies to you.

Do I need a visa for Tanzania?

Usually, yes. The Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania in Washington says foreigners need a passport or recognised travel document valid for at least six months, and a valid visa unless their country has a visa abolition agreement with Tanzania. It describes visas issued by a Tanzanian mission abroad or at designated entry points, and a visitor’s pass valid for up to three months (six for citizens of East African Community member states).

Tanzania’s own eVisa guidelines, read on 20 October 2026, ask applicants to apply only through the official immigration website, not through other online links. Passports need at least six months’ validity and an unused visa page, visitors must show a return ticket on arrival, and online applications are processed within ten days, except for referral cases. Every passport holder, including a child, needs a separate application, and one visa covers both the mainland and Zanzibar. A visa grant notice is not the final authority to enter.

Do I need a visa for Uganda?

Uganda’s Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control describes a single-entry tourist visa of up to three months, applied for online, with a passport valid for at least six months, a recent photograph and a travel itinerary or booking among the requirements. It notes that a visa approval is valid for 90 days from approval, after which a new application is needed, so time your application for your travel dates.

The directorate also describes an East African Tourist Visa covering Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda only, valid for 90 days for tourism, with the first country you enter issuing it. Because Kenya now operates its eTA system, check with both countries’ official sources whether the joint visa suits a route that includes Kenya.

Do I need special travel insurance to enter Kenya or Tanzania?

In most cases, yes, and the rule is new. Since October 2026 both countries require visitors to hold a government-provided travel insurance policy on arrival, in addition to any travel insurance of their own, and the UK’s travel advice for both says a policy from home does not replace it. Uganda has no such scheme in the UK’s entry advice.

Do I need a yellow fever certificate?

It depends on your route as much as your destination, and it is really three questions: what each country asks for at the border, what health authorities recommend for your own protection, and what a later border on your route will ask.

At the border, Kenya and Tanzania ask for proof of vaccination from travellers aged one or over arriving from a country the World Health Organization lists as a yellow fever risk; Tanzania’s rule also covers airport transits of more than 12 hours in such a country. WHO’s list includes Kenya and Uganda but not Tanzania, so a journey from Kenya into Tanzania, or from Uganda into either, needs a certificate, while one from Tanzania into Kenya does not need one under this rule. Uganda itself no longer requires a certificate for entry: its immigration directorate said so on 2 October 2026, and the UK’s travel advice removed the requirement on 8 October. The CDC’s Uganda entry table, last updated in April 2025, still lists it.

As medical advice, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the vaccine for travellers aged nine months or over going to Uganda, and for most travel in Kenya, though not for travel limited to Nairobi, the former North Eastern Province or most of the coast. It generally does not recommend it for Tanzania.

Crossing between Kenya and Tanzania

On our Kenya and Tanzania journeys you enter both countries, so you need what each requires: a Kenyan eTA and a Tanzanian visa (unless exempt), each country’s government insurance, and a yellow fever certificate when you enter Tanzania from Kenya. Our approved itineraries leave the crossing point and transfer arrangements to each customer’s written quotation, so we confirm the border with you rather than assuming it. Combining Kenya and Tanzania explains how the two countries fit together.

Documents checklist

• A passport valid for at least six months. Kenya’s eTA portal asks for one blank page and the UK’s travel advice says two, so allow two; Tanzania asks for an unused visa page.
• Your approved Kenyan eTA, Tanzanian visa or Ugandan visa, as your route requires, printed and saved on your phone.
• Your Kenyan and Tanzanian government insurance certificates, if your route enters those countries.
• A yellow fever certificate if your route needs one, and any other vaccination records.
• Your own travel insurance documents and emergency contacts.
• Copies of everything, kept separately from the originals.