Rwanda visa and entry requirements

The visa, which is genuinely simple

The Rwanda Development Board states it in one sentence: citizens of all countries are allowed to get a visa upon arrival without prior application.

• African Union, Commonwealth and Francophonie member countries: 30 days, free. That covers most of Europe's Francophone countries, the whole Commonwealth including the UK, Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia and Singapore, and all of Africa.
• East African Community citizens get a pass free of charge for a six month stay.
• Ninety days free for Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Mauritius, Philippines, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Singapore.
• Everyone else pays, and the fee is capped: no more than USD 50 for single entry, USD 70 for multiple.
• You can apply online first if you prefer, and pay online or on arrival. There is no affiliated agent authorised to apply on your behalf, whatever a search result tells you.

The passport

• Valid at least 6 months after the day you arrive, with at least one blank page for stamps.

Yellow fever

• A certificate is required if you are arriving from a country on the transmission risk list, which includes much of central and west Africa. A long transit through one can count.

The plastic bag

• Rwanda bans single-use plastic bags and confiscates them on arrival. This is not a fine or a warning; the bag is taken at the airport.
• Repack before you fly. Duty free bags, packing bags, bin liners inside a suitcase - all of it.
• The airport-security resealable liquids bag is the usual exception, but do not build a plan around exceptions.

The East Africa Tourist Visa

• USD 100 covers Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda for 90 days with multiple entries. Worth it if you are crossing more than one border; otherwise the free 30 days is better.