Do you need a visa for Botswana?
Botswana divides visitors into two groups:
- Visa-exempt nationalities. Around a hundred countries, including the UK, all EU member states, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, most Commonwealth countries and most SADC members. You are given a visitor’s entry permit at the airport or border. Exempt visitors may stay up to 90 days in any twelve-month period.
- Everyone else applies for a visa in advance, through Botswana’s online e-visa system. Expect to upload a passport scan, a photograph, your itinerary, accommodation confirmations and proof of funds. Allow several weeks, and do not book non-refundable flights until the visa is granted.
Indian passport holders, for example, have generally needed to apply in advance, while Kenyan and South African citizens have not. Because the list changes, the authoritative source is the Botswana Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services or your nearest Botswana embassy or high commission. Tell us your nationality at enquiry and we will check it for you.
Passport requirements.
- Valid for at least six months beyond the date you arrive in Botswana.
- At least two completely blank pages for entry stamps. If your trip also visits the Victoria Falls, South Africa or Namibia, allow two more for each crossing. Running out of pages mid-trip is one of the few problems we cannot fix for you on the ground.
- Proof of onward travel, and occasionally of sufficient funds, can be requested at immigration. Your travel documents from us cover this; keep them printed in your hand luggage.
Travelling with children under 18.
Botswana, like South Africa, has asked for additional paperwork for minors to combat child trafficking. Families are usually advised to carry:
- A full, unabridged birth certificate for each child, showing the names of both parents. A short-form certificate may not be accepted, and a certificate not in English needs a sworn translation.
- If only one parent is travelling, a signed affidavit of consent from the other parent, with a copy of their passport, or the relevant court order or death certificate.
- If a child is travelling with adults who are not their parents, consent affidavits from both parents.
Enforcement varies from border to border, but the paperwork is cheap to carry and very expensive to be without, especially if your route connects through Johannesburg, where South Africa applies similar rules. See our family safaris for how we plan for children on the ground.
Yellow fever and other health entry rules.
There is no yellow fever in Botswana, and you do not need a certificate if you fly in from Europe, North America or Australasia. You do need a valid yellow fever certificate if you arrive from, or have transited for more than about twelve hours through, a country with a risk of yellow fever, which includes Kenya, Uganda and much of central and west Africa. If your safari combines Botswana with East Africa, build this into your plans.
South Africa applies the same rule, which matters if you connect through Johannesburg on the way. Our health and malaria guide covers vaccinations and malaria in detail.
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia.
Many Botswana safaris begin or end at the Victoria Falls, and a day trip from Kasane into Zimbabwe or Zambia is common. Each crossing has its own rules:
- Zimbabwe and Zambia issue visas on arrival or online for many nationalities. The KAZA Univisa (around US$50, valid 30 days) covers both countries and also allows day trips into Botswana through the Kazungula border, which is useful if you are based at the Falls and visiting Chobe for the day.
- Botswana has said it intends to join the Univisa fully, but at the time of writing it covers only those day trips; your normal Botswana entry rules still apply for a safari.
- Namibia now requires visas from a number of nationalities that were previously exempt, so check this if your route crosses the Caprivi Strip or into Etosha.
Every crossing uses passport pages and every one takes time. We build border times into the itinerary rather than pretending they are not there.
Customs, vet fences and what not to bring.
Normal personal effects, cameras and binoculars enter without formality. Botswana controls foot-and-mouth disease with veterinary fences across the country, and if you are self-driving you will be stopped at checkpoints where raw meat and some dairy products may be confiscated. Drones need prior permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana and should, in practice, stay at home. Firearms need permits arranged far in advance and have no place on a photographic safari.
Ivory, rhino horn and products from protected species cannot be bought, carried or exported. Buy curios from reputable shops that can tell you what they are made from.
