Uganda VISA
Uganda VISA is one of the documents a foreigner should not forget to possess before they decide to come to the country for any activity. A VISA is an official document that allows visitors from other countries to legally enter a specific foreign country for example Uganda for various reasons including tourism, holidays, business, family visits, study purposes among others. Uganda is located in Africa within the East African region and is a popular destination with unique features like national parks which attract more visitors to come to the country. However any visitor that wants to visit Uganda must have a valid Uganda VISA that will give him or her access to the country. Getting a Uganda VISA is not difficult because the Ugandan government in July 2016 introduced an online visa system where the Uganda VISA documents are acquired electronically which made acquiring a visa so easy in that it can be acquired easily and faster within 48hours.
A Single and Multiple entry visa to Uganda allows visitors to stay in the country for a maximum length of 90 days even for the East African VISA which allows multiple entries. Any person who wants to acquire a Uganda VISA should be purchase the visa one month before the travel.
Requirements needed when acquiring a VISA
Visitors who want to come to Uganda need to have some requirements which are very important and crucial in order to get a visa which includes:
- A valid passport of nationality, the passport should be at least valid for 6 months from your date of arrival in Uganda.
- Copy of the passport information page
- Two recent passport-sized photos that will be put on your Uganda Visa.
- Yellow fever vaccination certificate is also important when you are getting a Visa to Uganda and in case you are not vaccinated, after arrival at Entebbe Airport, you will be vaccinated. Children under the age of 5 years must be vaccinated against polio and should have a polio vaccination certificate. In case you have pet animals like a dog or a cat you should have a certificate indicating that they were vaccinated from rabies and other animal diseases by the veterinary doctor and are in good health before the arrival date.
How to get a Visa to Uganda
Visa cards in Uganda can be obtained or purchased in different ways for example getting it from the nearest embassy or high commission in your country, purchasing it at the entry points on arrival like Entebbe airport or any other border station depending on the one you have used or applying for the Visa online through the E-Visa system which is the easiest way.
Visa Types and Fees
There are various Visa types where a visitor will choose the one that works for him or her depending on the reasons of the visit, they include
- Transit Visa, this is a temporary VISA that is issued to a visitor for a short duration of time for example if the traveller wants to tour around Uganda without staying there and also connect to other destination like Kenya because the Transit Visa usually expires after 24hours and costs $50.
- Single Entry Tourist Visa, allows a visitor to enter one country for the specified period of time and it costs $50.
- East African Tourist Visa, this is a visa that allows you to enter the east African countries, for example, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania among others. The VISA allows you to enter and leave the country as many times as you want, depending on the duration of your visit and it costs $100
- Multiple Entry Visa, this is a visa that is issued to a visitor who has travelled at least five times within the period of one year. Multiple entry visas for 6 to 12 months costs $100, 24 months costs $150 and for 24 months to 36 months costs $200.
How to apply for a VISA to Uganda
When you have all the requirements needed, a valid passport, passport photo, and vaccination certificate, you will go on the online E-visa system (www.visas.immigration.go.ug) where you will fill in the application form which consists of several section where you need to fill in your personal information and details concerning the purpose of the visit, length of stay in Uganda among others, you will upload the documents where you will get an emailing saying application received.
There are three Visa processing fee options in Uganda where you chose the period of time when you want to receive your Visa including
- Standard processing time, when you choose the standard processing time your Visa will be processed within 6 days at a cost of $86.50 and for the East African visa at a cost of $148
- Rush processing time, when you choose the rush processing time, your Visa will be processed within 4 days at a cost of $116.50 and for the East African visa at a cost of $178
- Super Rush processing time, this is the fastest option where your Visa will be processed within 48 hours at a cost of $151.50 and for the East African visa at a cost of $213.
After filling all the necessary information, you are advised to check if the information provided is 100% accurate. Then you will submit all your necessary documents and then go on the payment step where you can pay for a visa to Uganda either using Credit/Debit Card or PayPal account. After you have paid you will receive an application approved email with the approved letter attached, you will print out the approved letter and payment receipt which will be handed over together with the passport to the customs official who will sign, stamp and issue the actual Visa in your passport on arrival at Entebbe airport.
Validity of a Uganda VISA
A Single Entry Visa for business, tourists and East African visitors is valid for three months from the date of arrival or date it is issued while a Multiple Entry Visa can be valid for six months or even one year from the date of arrival. And in case you want to extend your stay in Uganda you can contact the immigration office headquarters in Kampala before your current visa expires because when you overstay after your visa has expired you will be charged. However if you belong to any of the east African countries, it’s a disadvantage because the east African visa can’t be extended.
Visa Exemption Countries in Uganda
There are some countries that are not supposed to apply for an online Visa or pay any Visa fees and they include:
- Common Market for East and Southern African countries which are Angola, Malawi, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Eritrea, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
- East African Community countries which include Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi
- Other countries like Cyprus, Saint Vincent, Togo, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Antigua, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Fiji, Gambia, Jamaica among others.
Acquiring a Visa is very easy due to the online system and getting the visa on arrival at Entebbe Airport as long as you have the important requirements of a valid passport, recent passport size photo, a yellow vaccination certificate and pay to purchase the Visa. A Visa to Uganda will give you an opportunity to explore different national parks with various exciting and thrilling activities like gorilla trekking which will provide you with unforgettable memories in Uganda and other destinations in East Africa in case you apply for a Multiple Entry Visa.
