Uganda visa and entry requirements

The visa is bought online, before you travel

• You must apply at the Uganda e-immigration portal before you fly. The FCDO and Global Affairs Canada both state it as compulsory, and Canada lists the electronic visa as required even for transit.
• The single-entry tourist visa costs 50 US dollars and is granted for up to 3 months.
• Payment is by Visa or Mastercard only, with a 3 per cent surcharge added to every online payment. The fee is not refundable, even if you cancel.
• Uganda's own FAQ will not say that visa on arrival is finished. Asked "Is Uganda still issuing visas on arrival?", it replies only that applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online to avoid inconvenience. Two foreign ministries say the online visa is mandatory. Do not fly on the strength of an evasive answer.

What you get is an approval letter, and it is not the visa

• The approval letter establishes that you are eligible. Immigration says in as many words that the final approval happens at the point of entry, where the visa sticker is printed and pasted into your passport.
• The barcode on the letter is what the officer scans. Immigration calls printing it recommended rather than mandatory; the FCDO says print it. Print it.
• The approval lapses 90 days after it is granted. Travel inside three months of approval or apply again.
• Biometrics are captured at the border, so allow for the queue on arrival.

The documents the application actually wants

• Passport bio-data page with at least 6 months' validity, a recent passport photograph, a travel itinerary or booking, and a hotel booking or the address where you are staying.
• Everything you upload has to be in English.

The East Africa Tourist Visa, and its trap

• 100 US dollars, 90 days, multiple entries across Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. Those three countries only.
• The country that issues it must be your first entry point. Buy the Ugandan one and land in Nairobi first and you have bought the wrong visa.
• It is not extendable or renewable, inside the country or on leaving the bloc, and it prohibits employment, volunteering included.
• A yellow fever certificate and a return ticket are on its own list of required documents.

Staying longer

• The stay granted at entry can be extended by 60 days, in 2 intervals, online or in person at immigration headquarters or a regional office. That is the tourist visa; the East Africa visa cannot be extended at all.

Who needs no visa

• Uganda publishes a list of visa-exempt nationalities. Among the passports this site covers, Malaysia and Singapore are on it; Ireland, Hong Kong SAR, the UAE, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and most Commonwealth African and Caribbean states are too.