Visa policy of Botswana

Visitors to Botswana require a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.

Visa policy map

  Botswana

  Visa-free

  e-Visa

Visa exemption

Holders of passports of the following jurisdictions do not require a visa to visit Botswana for up to 90 days within a 365-day period (unless otherwise stated): ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

All European Union member states Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Australia Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belize Brazil Brunei Canada Chile Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Eswatini Gambia Grenada Guyana Holy See Hong Kong Iceland Israel Jamaica Japan Kenya Kiribati South Korea Kuwait Lesotho Liechtenstein Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mauritius Mexico Monaco Mozambique Namibia ID Nauru New Zealand Norway Oman Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Qatar Russia 1 Samoa Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa South Sudan   Switzerland Tanzania Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Tuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Vanuatu Venezuela Zambia Zimbabwe

_{ID - May enter Botswana using an ID Card in lieu of a passport valid for 6 months.
1 - 30 days each visit, but 90 days within any 365-day period.}

• All visitors (Except Namibia) must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

• In addition to countries who are already visa-exempt, holders of diplomatic, official or service passports of China and diplomatic passports only of India do not require a visa to enter Botswana for up to 30 days.

• Botswana and Namibia signed an agreement in February 2023 allowing citizens to travel between the two countries using only identity cards, with passports no longer needed. ^[5] Botswana has held talks with Zimbabwe to achieve a similar deal, and expects to open talks with Zambia. ^[6]

Visa on arrival

External image
Botswana international border crossing points

On 15 November 2018, the Government of Botswana announced that tourists would be able to obtain visas on arrival from 24 November 2018. ^{[7] [8]} The plan was put on hold on 27 November 2018. ^[9] Visa on arrival for Indians was made official in 2019. ^[10]

E-visa

On 12 August 2021, Botswana launched an electronic visa system, all countries that needed prior visa, are now eligible for e-Visa. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14]}

Ministry of foreign affairs of Botswana stated that they introduced an e-Visa system to boost tourism and business in country. ^[12]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to Botswana were from the following countries of nationality: ^[15]

Country	2016	2015	2014	2013
Zimbabwe	874,169	967,322	784,720	825,717
South Africa	759,564	808,118	600,387	742,639
Zambia	220,649	202,289	188,351	331,799
Namibia	187,044	170,326	162,453	169,733
United States	52,171	49,451	49,961	139,752
United Kingdom	42,534	41,011	39,675	47,929
Germany	35,288	32,230	34,576	43,674
India	19,297	17,413	18,342	13,543
Lesotho	18,773	18,842	12,408	10,839
Malawi	17,102	20,607	15,175	17,386
Total	2,401,786	2,501,616	2,082,521	2,598,158

See also

• Visa requirements for Botswana citizens

References

1. List of countries that require visa to enter Botswana
2. "Visa and passport". Timatic . International Air Transport Association through Emirates . Retrieved 1 April 2017.
3. "Guidelines for Completing a Visa Application | Embassy of the Republic of Botswana in Washington, D.C." www.botswanaembassy.org. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
4. IMMIGRATION VISA REGULATIONS
5. Silence Mugadzaweta (20 February 2023). "Botswana, Namibia to abolish passports: Citizens of the two countries will now use identity cards". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
6. Mqondisi Dube (13 March 2023). "Botswana, Zimbabwe to Discuss Eliminating Use of Passports". VOA. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
7. "theafricanprogressiveeconomist.com". www.theafricanprogressiveeconomist.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
8. "Botswana Offers Visa-on-Arrival to Africans". 18 November 2018.
9. "Southern & East African Tourism Update". Southern & East African Tourism Update. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
10. "Botswana visa for Indian citizens to travel in 2021".
11. "Botswana-evisa".
12. "Travelnews.africa - Botswana rolls out e-visa regime to boost tourism and investments". 19 August 2021.
13. @OfficialMasisi (10 November 2021). "Investors can now be granted permanent residence status by the Minister even before they have reached the minimum f…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. "Guidelines for Completing a Visa Application | Embassy of the Republic of Botswana in Washington, D.C."
15. "Statistical Publications".