Every guest we send to Tanzania hits the same form, and nearly every one of them messages us from the Travel Information page asking what on earth to put in the Local Host section. So here it is, box by box, from the people whose details you'll be typing in. A US passport has one extra wrinkle, the visa type, and we'll deal with that first. If you've booked with us, you can fill the whole thing in from this page in about twenty minutes.
The short version. US passport holders need Tanzania's Multiple Entry Visa, not the cheaper Ordinary visa. Apply at visa.immigration.go.tz, the only official site. It costs US$100, it's valid for twelve months with up to 90 days per visit, and one visa covers the mainland and Zanzibar. Apply as soon as your trip is booked, and at least four weeks out.
Use the official site, nothing else
Google "Tanzania visa" and the top results are mostly agencies that fill in the government form for you and charge a service fee on top. Some charge double the visa cost. The only site you need is the Tanzania Immigration Department's own portal, visa.immigration.go.tz. Check the address ends in .go.tz, which is the Tanzanian government domain, and you're in the right place.
Why a US passport pays US$100
Most visitors buy Tanzania's Ordinary visa: US$50, single entry, three months. Tanzania doesn't issue it to US nationals. Under a bilateral arrangement between the two countries, Americans are issued the Multiple Entry Visa instead, US$100, valid for twelve months from issue, with each visit capped at three months. Tanzania's embassy in Washington lists it that way, and its embassies' visa pages say it in black and white: a US passport holder coming for tourism must apply for the Multiple Visa. So when the form asks which visa you want, choose Multiple Entry Visa. Don't try to save US$50 with the Ordinary one; it isn't yours to have. The upside is real if your trip crosses into Kenya and back, because the same visa lets you re-enter.
Cost and timing
The official line is that applications are processed within ten days and should be lodged at least ten days before you travel. Our experience this year is that it can run well past that, so we tell every guest to apply the moment the trip is booked. It's one application per traveler, children included, and you pay by card at the end.
Visa on arrival does exist at Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar airports, at the same US$100. Don't plan on it. Airlines run their own document checks at check-in and can refuse to board you if there's no visa already issued, because they're liable if you get turned around at the other end. We had a group held at check-in in Johannesburg this year who only boarded because they had their eVisas in hand. Get it before you fly, every time.
Before you start
Have these ready and the form takes one sitting:
- Your passport, valid for at least six months past your return date, with blank pages.
- A scan or clear photo of the passport photo page, and a passport-style photo of yourself.
- Your flight details: the airport you land at, the airport you fly out of, and your arrival date.
- Your Kingse itinerary, for the first lodge you're staying at.
- A credit or debit card.
The first three pages
Personal Information, Contact, Address and Employment, and Passport Information are all about you, and they're straightforward. Type your name exactly as it appears in your passport. Your email is where the approval letter arrives, so use one you check. The form saves as you go, and the Application ID at the top of the page is how you get back in, so write it down.
Travel Information, box by box
This is the page everyone gets stuck on. Here's what goes where for a Kingse safari.
Tanzania Embassy
- Country from where you are applying: United States.
- Nearby embassy to handle your application: pick the United States option in the list, which is the Tanzanian embassy in Washington, D.C. It's processed online either way.
Visit Details
- Type of visa requested: Multiple Entry Visa. This is the one a US passport is issued; see above.
- Purpose of your visit: Tourism.
- First time to visit Tanzania: Yes, unless you've been before. If you have, enter your last visit date and the old visa number if you still have it. If you don't, leave it blank.
Travel Plans
- Destination: Tanzania Mainland, even if your trip ends on Zanzibar. The one visa covers both.
- Onward country: where you're flying to after Tanzania. For most of our guests that's the United States. It's not a required box.
- Port type: Airports.
- Port of entry: the airport you land at. For our northern Tanzania safaris that's Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA, code JRO).
- Port of departure: the airport you fly out of. If your trip ends on the beach that's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, which is Zanzibar.
- Date of arrival: the day you land in Tanzania, not the day you leave the US. With a connection in Europe or the Gulf you often land a day or two after you take off, so check the date on your ticket.
- Stay duration: your total nights in Tanzania, mainland and Zanzibar together.
Local Host
This is the one. The form wants to know who's hosting you in Tanzania. For a Kingse safari, the host is us.
Host: Company/Organization
Full name: Kingse Safaris Pty Ltd
Mobile No: +61 412 267 706 (choose the +61 country code from the flag menu, then type 412267706 with no leading zero)
Email: bookings@kingsesafaris.com
Company name / Organization registration No: ABN 37 698 821 886
Relationship: Guest
Physical Address: Unit 1303, 1328 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach QLD 4221, Australia
Yes, the form accepts an Australian company as your host. It's who's arranged your trip and who immigration can contact about you, and that's what the box is for.
Accommodation
- Where are you going to stay: Hotel.
- Physical address: the name and area of the first lodge on your itinerary, for example "Kaliwa Lodge, Machame, Kilimanjaro". It's the first night on the itinerary we sent you. You don't need to list every lodge.
Countries Resided
Add the United States, and any other country you've lived in. Then save and continue.
Documents, Declaration and Payment
Upload your passport photo page and your passport photo where it asks. Read and tick the declaration, pay the US$100 by card, and you're done. You'll get an email confirming the application, and a second one with the approval letter when it's granted. Download the approval letter to your phone and print a copy. Wi-Fi at the airport is not something to depend on, and immigration wants to see it.
Two more things Tanzania asks for
Inbound travel insurance. Since October 1, 2026 every visitor to the Tanzanian mainland needs the government's inbound travel insurance, about US$44 per adult, half that for ages 3 to 17 and free under 3. Buy it online before you fly at inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz or on arrival. One policy covers Zanzibar too, so never buy it twice. It doesn't replace your own travel insurance, which you should still have, with medical evacuation cover.
Health surveillance form. Since October 17, 2026 every arriving traveler also completes the Ministry of Health's short travelers' form at afyamsafiri.moh.go.tz, before departure or on arrival. It takes a couple of minutes.
If your trip ends on Zanzibar, expect a small infrastructure tax of about US$5 per person per night, paid at your hotel. Your Kingse itinerary will remind you.
Vaccinations and health
Tanzania only asks for a yellow fever certificate if you're arriving from, or spending more than twelve hours in transit through, a yellow fever risk country. The CDC's Tanzania page says the same: traveling direct from the US, the vaccine isn't required for entry. A connection in Amsterdam, Doha or Istanbul doesn't trigger it. A long layover in Nairobi or Addis Ababa can, because Kenya and Ethiopia are on the risk list, and a Kenya safari before Tanzania always does. That said, a certificate gets asked for at check-in desks and immigration counters more often than the rule says it should, and whether to have the vaccine is a conversation for your travel doctor, not us. Take your full itinerary to a travel clinic around eight weeks out and let them decide on that and on malaria. We don't advise on health. The CDC's Tanzania page, the immigration sites and your doctor are the only sources that count, and it's worth reading the State Department's latest advice for Tanzania before you book, because it changes.
Traveling to more than one country?
The East Africa Tourist Visa covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda together, but it does not cover Tanzania. Tanzania is always its own visa. If your safari combines Tanzania with Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Victoria Falls or South Africa, we'll list exactly which visas and certificates you need in your pre-departure email, country by country. We've written the same walkthrough for US passports for Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa.
Stuck on a box?
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Stuck on the Form?
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