In early 2014, the governments of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda announced the creation of the East Africa Tourist Visa. The goal of this visa was to drive regional tourism into these countries by providing a hassle free visa application process at a low price. As of April 5, Tanzania has joined the visa program. This is great news if you plan to visit these countries in the near future, however the Tanzania government has not posted this information on their website yet which leads us to believe that the details are still being finalized. Burundi is also expected to eventually join the program, but has not to date. 
East Africa visas are only $100. They are multiple entry visas valid for 90 days. If you are traveling to 2 or more of these countries, the East African visa is not only convenient, but will save you money, as getting separate visas for each country will cost you at least $50/country. These three visas traditionally were applied to back to back to back which created the need for people to be without a passport for 3 weeks or more. Expediting fees, shipping fees, and time spent at each consulate was a major inconvenience.
Swift can get you your East Africa visa in 3 simple steps. The visa is simply an immigration entrance card that allows you hassle free entrance and re-entrance for up to 90 day access to all three countries. We will keep you posted on official news linking Tanzania and Burundi to the program!
Laurie Lee is co-founder and CEO of Swift Passport and Visa Services. A Chicago native, Laurie loves adventure travel, especially to the Caribbean. She enjoys writing for the Swift Post, as well as for her personal blog, Spare Parts- www.sparebodyparts.com.
COMMENTS
Hey, thanks for the update on Tanzania. I’ve been losing my hair trying to figure how best to manage a 10 Day trip to Kenya, Rwanda, Kenya again, Tanzania then finally Kenya on an East Africa Travel visa (which doesn’t cover Tanzania) or an East Africa Community visa (which doesn’t include Rwanda).