Uganda launches online visa application system to boost tourism numbers
Uganda has introduced an online visa application system with effect from July 2016, for tourists, business people and students as it hopes to tame challenges affecting regional and international arrival within tour and travels sector.
Visa application has always been cited by visitors in the country as the greatest impediment dogged by corruption and inefficiencies. The online system is seeking to correct this, as Uganda looks to tourism as an anchor sector in growing the economy.
The Visas that can be applied and obtained online include Multiple-Entry visa, Diplomatic and Official visa, Ordinary visa, East Africa Tourist Visa (multiple entry valid for 90 days to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda) and Transit visa.
Under the online application system, the decision taken on the application will be sent electronically through the email provided by the applicant. If approved, an approval letter will be sent as an attachment to the email provided. The applicant will be required to print it out and present it together with a valid passport / travel document at the point of entry.
The Uganda Electronic Visa/Permit Application System performs checks against law enforcement databases. All travelers seeking admission to Uganda are required to obtain a Visa using this system prior to being granted boarding.
The final approval is done at the selected point of entry (in the case of a visa) or at the Immigration Office. However, if you are out of Uganda, it is mandatory to present a valid visa approval letter for entering in Uganda. Any other permit does not allow you to enter the country.
Through the month of July 2016, it will still be possible to get visas on arrival. However, the traveler will have to go through the electronic application process (as above) at the point of entry. This will only apply in the month of July 2016, after which all visa applications shall be online.
The country has also adopted the single EAC tourism visa which allows tourists who want to visit simultaneously, the Republic of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda to do so using a single tourist visa which costs only $100.
The holder of the East Africa Tourist Visa shall enter from the country that issued the visa and move within the two other countries without applying for another visa or paying another visa fee.
The holder shall also be allowed to move out of the Republic of Kenya, Republic of Rwanda and Republic of Uganda; and return without having to pay for another visa. However, this will only be applicable in the period of 90 days.
This comes as numerous studies suggest that African citizens undergo through the most rigorous visa restrictions than anywhere else in the world with the Africa Development Bank’s Africa Visa Openness Index Report indicating that on average, Africans required visas to travel to 55 per cent of the countries within the continent.
