No Image Caption

New visa requirements effective April 2025

• Move to impact 31 countries
Residents of countries that have not reciprocated Namibia's visa exemptions will from next year have to apply online or upon arrival when visiting the Land of the Brave.
Ellanie Smit
Cabinet has approved the implementation of visa entry requirements for countries that have not reciprocated Namibia’s gesture of visa exemption, effective 1 April 2025. The move will affect 31 countries, whose residents will now have to apply for a visa online, or upon arrival in the country.

Cabinet further approved that fees for non-African Union (AU) members be set at N$1 600, and fees for AU members who qualify for visas on arrival to remain at N$1 200, subject to annual review based on the fluctuation of the Namibian dollar to the Euro.

It also approved that the visa-on-arrival form be merged with the arrival form, while departure forms will be discontinued to simplify the departure process. More personnel will also be deployed to arrival counters, it said.

The move has been met with mixed reactions from tourism stakeholders. There are concerns regarding a possible delay in the processing of visas upon arrival, and fees to be charged to tourists, tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta said.

Increasing capacity

According to him, the country does not expect a significant decrease in tourist arrival numbers as a result of the introduction of visa requirements. “In fact, all these 31 countries are eligible for the visa-upon-arrival regime at our international airports and entry points,” he said.

The minister added that they are engaging with the home affairs and immigration ministry to ensure increased capacity in terms of human resources and point-of-sale systems to fast-track the issuance of visas upon arrival, and to mitigate the potential delays in the process.

Shifeta further said they do not foresee a major reduction in economic activity in the tourism sector as a result of the move.

He, however, noted that it is crucial to weigh these potential impacts against the intended policy benefits to ensure sustainable tourism growth and economic stability.

Shifeta added that the tourism ministry, Namibia Tourism Board and private sector will continue to explore strategies to reduce these possible impacts by continuously engaging source markets, agents and embassies.

Additionally, the ministry will continue to monitor the situation after the implementation and adopt appropriate mitigating strategies if necessary, he said.

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-11-10

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Premier League: Liverpool 2 vs 0 Aston Villa | Brighton 2 vs 1 Manchester City | Wolves 2 vs 0 Southampton | West Ham 0 vs 0 Everton | Crystal Palace 0 vs 2 Fulham | Brentford 3 vs 2 Bournemouth Katima Mulilo: 21° | 34° Rundu: 20° | 25° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 22° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 31° Tsumeb: 21° | 30° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 30° Omaruru: 16° | 31° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Gobabis: 16° | 31° Henties Bay: 12° | 19° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 04:05, High tide: 10:43, Low Tide: 17:11, High tide: 23:27 Swakopmund: 14° | 15° Wind speed: 37km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 04:03, High tide: 10:41, Low Tide: 17:09, High tide: 23:25 Walvis Bay: 12° | 21° Wind speed: 39km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 04:03, High tide: 10:40, Low Tide: 17:09, High tide: 23:24 Rehoboth: 14° | 30° Mariental: 13° | 30° Keetmanshoop: 10° | 28° Aranos: 14° | 31° Lüderitz: 14° | 24° Ariamsvlei: 11° | 29° Oranjemund: 15° | 20° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 18° | 22° Lubumbashi: 16° | 32° Mbabane: 17° | 21° Maseru: 12° | 26° Antananarivo: 15° | 32° Lilongwe: 23° | 34° Maputo: 21° | 29° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Cape Town: 15° | 24° Durban: 18° | 20° Johannesburg: 15° | 20° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 31° Lusaka: 22° | 34° Harare: 21° | 33° Currency: GBP to NAD 22.67 | EUR to NAD 18.84 | CNY to NAD 2.45 | USD to NAD 17.58 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.25 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.06 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 133.12 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.4 | USD to EGP 49.25 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1664.84 | USD to ZAR 17.59 | USD to ZMW 27.2 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1851.79 Down -1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14663.22 Up +1.21% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 31267.47 Up +0.72% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 684.46/OZ DOWN -0.0083 | Copper US$ 4.30/lb DOWN -0.027 | Zinc US$ 3 003.50/T UP 0.17% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.29/BBP DOWN -0.0215 | Platinum US$ 969.80/OZ DOWN -0.0274 Sport results: Premier League: Liverpool 2 vs 0 Aston Villa | Brighton 2 vs 1 Manchester City | Wolves 2 vs 0 Southampton | West Ham 0 vs 0 Everton | Crystal Palace 0 vs 2 Fulham | Brentford 3 vs 2 Bournemouth Weather: Katima Mulilo: 21° | 34° Rundu: 20° | 25° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 22° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 31° Tsumeb: 21° | 30° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 30° Omaruru: 16° | 31° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Gobabis: 16° | 31° Henties Bay: 12° | 19° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 04:05, High tide: 10:43, Low Tide: 17:11, High tide: 23:27 Swakopmund: 14° | 15° Wind speed: 37km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 04:03, High tide: 10:41, Low Tide: 17:09, High tide: 23:25 Walvis Bay: 12° | 21° Wind speed: 39km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 04:03, High tide: 10:40, Low Tide: 17:09, High tide: 23:24 Rehoboth: 14° | 30° Mariental: 13° | 30° Keetmanshoop: 10° | 28° Aranos: 14° | 31° Lüderitz: 14° | 24° Ariamsvlei: 11° | 29° Oranjemund: 15° | 20° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 18° | 22° Lubumbashi: 16° | 32° Mbabane: 17° | 21° Maseru: 12° | 26° Antananarivo: 15° | 32° Lilongwe: 23° | 34° Maputo: 21° | 29° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Cape Town: 15° | 24° Durban: 18° | 20° Johannesburg: 15° | 20° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 31° Lusaka: 22° | 34° Harare: 21° | 33° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.67 | EUR to NAD 18.84 | CNY to NAD 2.45 | USD to NAD 17.58 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.25 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.06 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 133.12 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.4 | USD to EGP 49.25 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1664.84 | USD to ZAR 17.59 | USD to ZMW 27.2 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1851.79 Down -1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14663.22 Up +1.21% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 31267.47 Up +0.72% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 684.46/OZ DOWN -0.0083 | Copper US$ 4.30/lb DOWN -0.027 | Zinc US$ 3 003.50/T UP 0.17% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.29/BBP DOWN -0.0215 | Platinum US$ 969.80/OZ DOWN -0.0274