G’day folks. Today I wanted to write a post about my experience getting the East African Tourist Visa on arrival in Kigali, Rwanda. And using it! For those who don’t know, the East African Tourist Visa is a visa for three countries, unsurprisingly in East Africa. Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.

Both Rwanda and Uganda require a tourist visa for most visitors, especially from outside the region, and Kenya is a little less clear depending on where you are from, having recently brought in an eTA (Electronic Transit Authority) style system for people from some countries (including, I believe, Australia). A regular visa for Rwanda costs $50USD, as does one for Uganda. There is definitely a cost for Kenya’s eTA as well which appears to be $30USD.

The East African Tourist Visa costs $100USD. So if you are visiting all three countries you will save a little bit of money, but it’s the convenience that is the biggest reason to get this visa. You don’t have to go through three embassies/websites. You don’t have to do three applications. If you do get your visas online, you probably end up paying a credit card or processing fee as well. An important note (potentially) – I crossed borders into Uganda and then to Kenya from Uganda without issue. I admit I was concerned that I would STILL need an eTA entering Kenya, but I wasn’t asked for one. I think that’s the same for anyone, but I can’t obviously be 100% sure.

I entered Rwanda in early July this year. I had no visa of any kind when I touched down, in Amsterdam they asked me, I said ‘visa on arrival’, that satisfied them. I had done my research into the visa situation. You must get the East African Tourist Visa from the embassy or website of embassy/consulate of the first country you are entering. I tried to get it beforehand, instructions said to go to the Rwandan IREMBO website and apply for the visa.

However, when I attempted this the option in ‘visa type’ did not come up. I was concerned because I HAD to cross the border to Uganda the third day after arrival. So I went to the Ugandan website and considered applying for their visa separately. But jeepers they have so many questions, it was a lengthy process.

I researched further and I found a page somewhere from immigration Rwanda that said you can get the East African Tourist Visa on arrival. I looked for traveller experiences but I couldn’t find examples of this happening, so I was a bit unsure, but in the end I felt that it would probably be okay to just turn up and get the visa at the airport.

And it WAS. Thankfully. And that’s why I was keen to write this post. Because not until I was in the airport terminal did I know I could do this for SURE. And the best thing? It’s super simple. It’s not super fast, but simple it is. I lined up at the immigration line and when I got to the top of the line I told the officer I wanted the East African Tourist Visa. He did his thing, left his booth, came back with the sticker page, filled it in, stuck it in my passport (or maybe he left it for the payment desk, but I think he stuck it in).

I then went to the payment desk, where they preferred payment by card. Once the payment was done I was able to walk back through immigration where I was greeted by my bag not being there, but that’s by the by. No real questions asked. I think I was asked where I was staying in Kigali, but that’s it.

At the Ugandan border it was, well, honestly the fastest land border I’ve even been through. No questions, they do ask to see your yellow fever vaccination certificate (as they did in Kenya). So keep that in mind. But it was such an easy process, I feel this should be known. The only thing I need to point out is that Rwanda is having a real push to get more tourists to visit, and thus have simplified the process. If you enter through Uganda I believe you need to get that visa beforehand, but at least their website works albeit I know the payment part can be super tricky as I helped a friend earlier this year to organise her Ugandan visa through it. I can’t speak for Kenya at all really if you were to enter through Kenya, best to research that up. But if you’re planning on all three, or even I would say two, start with Rwanda and move on because it’s as hassle free as visas in Africa go. Having said that, I entered Zimbabwe at Harare Airport, the line was slow as but the visa on arrival was all handled by the immigration officer, but that was for a single country only.

Two last factoids for you – it lasts 3 months (the single country visas I think are generally 1 month) and is multiple entry, so you can cross the borders as many times as you like in 90 day I believe! Thanks for popping by today! Take care wherever you are in the world and… May the Journey Never End!