Entering Uganda - Visa requirements

Visa requirements

Ugandan visas are issued on arrival, online at visas.immigration.go.ug, at embassies, and at high commissions. The Uganda Visa Policy uses the principle of reciprocity, which means that all countries that require visas for Ugandans are visa-prone in Uganda.

The best way to get a Ugandan visa is "visa on arrival," which can be done at the airport or at all land borders for US$50 or £40.

Visa fees as of September 2019:

• Single Entry is good for 90 days for US$50.
• Inland Transit costs $50.
• East Africa A multiple-entry tourist visa is valid for 90 days and costs US$100.

Since multiple entry visas are expensive and must be obtained from Uganda's diplomatic missions abroad, tourists may want to consider the East Africa Tourist Visa, first issued in 2014, which allows travel between Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda with multiple entries in a 90-day period for US$100 and without "restrictions on country of origin." You can buy this visa online (or when you get to Kenya or Rwanda, if that is your first port of entry). However, since some airlines may refuse to board you without the assurance of a visa, Rwanda has established an online website to issue these, which means that some tourists may want to first land at Rwanda's capital airport of Kigali rather than Entebbe or Nairobi since this visa must be issued by the country that you first plan to visit (similar to the principle of Schengen visas in the EU).

Countries exempt from visa requirements: Angola, Antigua, Bahamas, Botswana, Barbados, Belize, Comoros, Cyprus, Eritrea, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Tonga, Vanuatu, South Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Visa extension

You can get a free one-month visa extension at immigration offices in Kampala, Fort Portal, Jinja and Mbarara. However, you can not get a visa extension on a 90-day East African tourist visa, but only on a 90-day single-entry Uganda visa.