Tourism & Travel News South Africa

Mozambique: do you need a visa?

Business and leisure travellers flying into Mozambique have been doing so with some degree of confusion in terms of the visa requirements for their entry into the country.

According to IATA (the International Air Transport Association that serves as the trade association for the world's airlines), nationals of any country can obtain a visa on arrival in Mozambique. This means that, providing visitors can prove that their stay in Mozambique is legitimate, it is not necessary for them to arrange for a visa prior to arriving in Mozambique.

"There is a lot of misinformation out there. We are also aware that Mozambique's overseas representations regularly state that a visa prior to travel is required," said a spokesperson for the association, who confirmed that they receive questions about the visa on arrival facility in Mozambique on a regular basis.

"In our experience, it is quite common to see irregularities between information supplied by embassies or consulates that fall under Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and the actual requirements enforced by immigration authorities at points of entry into a country, which are usually administered by Ministries of Interior.

"However, this has been repeatedly refuted by our contacts in the Immigration office based at Mozambique's international airports, who have confirmed that visas on arrival are in fact issued to bona fide visitors. In cases of information discrepancy, we follow the 'actual airport practice': in other words, the entry regulations as applied on the ground by Immigration."

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