Zimbabwe visa and entry requirements

Three categories, and yours decides where you get the visa

• Category A pays nothing and applies for nothing. Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Jamaica and a long list of Commonwealth and SADC states.
• Category B buys the visa at the port of entry, or online first if you prefer. Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, every EU state, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Russia and the Gulf states.
• Category C must hold the visa before boarding. Cambodia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Lebanon and most of West Africa.
• Read the actual list on the Department of Immigration site rather than reasoning from the region. Malaysia and Singapore are visa free while Thailand and the Philippines are not; China is Category B while Taiwan is Category C.

The fee is not the same for everyone

The Department of Immigration publishes this, in US dollars:

• Bring the fee in US dollars, in small notes. That is the FCDO's wording, and it is not a courtesy: change is scarce in Zimbabwe generally, and the immigration desk is no exception.
• The Department reserves the right to change your visa type during processing, and its own platform warns that this may change the cost. The approval response states the actual figure.
• The KAZA UniVisa is the only figure the FCDO states directly. The 50 US dollars is not on the Department's fee table, which does not list it at all.

The KAZA UniVisa, if Victoria Falls is the point of the trip

• It costs 50 US dollars, lasts 30 days, and covers Zimbabwe and Zambia together plus day trips into Botswana. One document instead of two.
• It is issued at Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls airports, and at the land borders at Victoria Falls and Kazungula. Not at every port of entry in the country.
• It can also be bought in advance on the e-visa platform, where it is listed as a one month visa alongside the single, double and multiple entry options.
• Leaving for anywhere other than Zimbabwe or Zambia ends it. Fly out to South Africa and come back and you need a new visa.

The passport

• At least 6 months' validity after the day you arrive.
• The FCDO asks for 3 blank pages; Global Affairs Canada asks for 2. They disagree, so take 3. The FCDO explains the reason: you may need to exit through a neighbouring country or leave at short notice.
• Zimbabwean temporary travel documents are not valid for re-entry to the UK. Travelling on one can strand you in Zimbabwe.

If you use the e-visa instead

• Allow 7 working days on average, and apply at least 3 weeks ahead. Those are the platform's own numbers.
• The single entry visa is valid 1 month from issue, the double 3 months, the multiple 6 months. The validity runs from issue, not from the date you said you would arrive, though you may enter on any date inside the period.
• There are no amendments and no refunds. A wrong detail means a fresh application, and a refused application does not get the payment back.
• The multiple entry visa on arrival exists only for British, American and Canadian passports. Everyone else who wants multiple entry applies online, or, per the Berlin embassy's guidance, gets a single entry at the border first and applies afterwards.

The declaration form

• The Department encourages every traveller to complete the Zimbabwe Entry Declaration Form before travelling, on the e-visa platform, including Category A nationals who need no visa. It is encouraged rather than required, but it is what makes the desk quick.

Extending, and getting it wrong

• Two consecutive extensions are possible, to a total of 90 days, applied for at any Department of Immigration office. Global Affairs Canada publishes that; the FCDO says the application is made in person.
• A business visa or work permit cannot be extended from inside the country. You leave and re-enter as a visitor, or apply afresh and wait for the decision outside Zimbabwe.
• Volunteering and missionary work count as work and need a temporary work permit, not a visitor entry.

Journalists

• Accreditation has to be obtained before you travel, from a Zimbabwean mission. Without it the FCDO lists arrest, detention in difficult conditions, a fine and deportation. Zimbabwe defines journalism broadly, so this reaches further than a press card.

Vaccination

• A yellow fever certificate is required if you are arriving from a country listed as a transmission risk. There is no yellow fever risk in Zimbabwe itself; this is a transit rule.