Visa free travel to Africa – what travellers need to know

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Even I, an Africaphile, will admit travel to Africa can be tough to get your head around. Flights, accommodation, tours, vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis, and how to take funds can all take their toll. So the last thing most of us want to do is have to dash off our passports to some distant embassy (at great cost) and hope our visa application is accepted. Choosing a destination offering visa free travel to Africa can therefore make life a whole lot easier.

Which countries offer visa free travel to Africa?

The countries any traveller can visit in Africa without a visa depends on the passport you carry. Generally speaking, the nations ‘sending’ the most travellers – UK, EU, US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – are most likely to benefit from visa free travel to Africa.

This scope is getting broader all the time, with many African nations realizing how off-putting the need for a visa can be. This is especially so for countries which don’t have an extensive list of embassies abroad.

Travel to Africa falls under three broad categories. Firstly, there are nations offering visa-free travel. Then there are countries providing more-or-less guaranteed visas on arrival for tourist purposes. Finally, there are countries where you absolutely must obtain a visa before travelling. eVisa systems like those for Kenya and Sierra Leone are making visa applications prior to travel easier.

All the same, it does mean you shouldn’t book anything which cannot be fully refunded until your visa comes through. Most nations issue visas valid for three months from their issue date. In other words, you’ve got 90 days to enter the country after your visa is granted. But for some countries, it’s only one month (30 days). This can make getting a good value break a difficult proposition. All the more reason to consider a destination granting visa free travel to Africa for tourists…

Which African countries are visa free for tourists

If you head to a country offering visa-free travel for your nationality, you’ll get some sort of tourist permit stamped into your passport at immigration. The exact amount of time you can remain in the country varies from destination to destination. It can be as little as 15 days (Sao Tome e Principe), but is usually around a month.

Such visa free travel in Africa is almost always for tourism alone. If you plan to work or volunteer, it’s likely you’ll still need to apply for a visa before arrival.

In north Africa, Morocco and Tunisia provide visa free travel for many nationalities. Both are great countries for dipping your toe into all that Africa’s about, with busy souks, plenty of historic sites, and a fair number of beaches too.

At the other end of the continent, South Africa also offers visa free travel for tourists. And what a bargain this is, given the diversity of attractions it can boast, from Big Five safaris to some of the earliest European buildings in the southern hemisphere. Neighbouring Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini (Swaziland) follow a similar practice of granting free tourist permits, making Africa’s largest visa free travel zone in Africa.

Nations seeking to attract travellers looking for winter sun make up most of the rest of this list of visa free African nations. They are: The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritius, Sao Tome e Principe, and Cabo (Cape) Verde. As an overseas territory of the UK, Saint Helena’s visa rules match those of the UK.

Interesting, you can also fly directly to Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh and receive a tourist permit. But head to the rest of Egypt to see the delights of the Nile, and you’ll need to apply for a visa.

Which African countries offer a visa on arrival?

An increasing number of African nations are offering the half-way house of visas on arrival (VOAs) for tourists. It means they obtain the cash for issuing visas, but travellers don’t have to worry about doing anything before reaching the destination.

Most of the time, it’s as simple as filling out a form, handing over the cash, and waiting a couple of minutes. However, I do have one word of warning. Check-in staff at your departure airport can be a bit uppity about travellers not having a visa. This is because the airline would be liable for your return flight if you are refused entry into the country, and they don’t want to have to cover that theoretical cost.

As ever, you’ll have to confirm (and confirm again) the requirements for the passport you’re travelling on. But as far as I’m aware, the following nations offer stress-free visas on arrival for tourists in Africa: Ethiopia, Comoros, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

Often, this service is only available when arriving via the main international airport or through certain overland routes. You’ll need to double check this so you’re not caught out.

Visa free travel to Africa

You might assume getting a visa for countries in Africa would be a difficult, time consuming, or even Kafkaesque experience. And it can be. However, for most destinations a tourist to Africa would like to visit, the process is getting simpler all the time. Visa free travel and visa on arrival options have opened up a third to a half of Africa for travellers who’d do anything to avoid needing a visa before travel.