How the East Africa Tourist Visa is going to boost tourism in East Africa. just for $100

For any tourist that has visited the East Africa region, you well know that you require a visa to guarantee your entry into each East African country. This means that if you plan on visiting Uganda and Rwanda, you ought to get visas for those two countries. This is somehow inconveniencing for those who want a fast service delivery. The solution to that is the East Africa Tourist Visa. The East Africa tourist Visa is a multiple entry visa that shall allow you to travel to Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda. This simply means if you get this visa, you are free to travel to any of those countries without applying for their specific country visa. This visa was agreed upon by the heads of states of Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya as a way of promoting tourism within the region.

How to apply.

The application for this visa shall be carried out at any diplomatic representation of the republic of Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya. This shall fully depend on where you are going to start your journey. Let’s say if you want to visit Rwanda first, all you do is to go to the Rwandan diplomatic offices and apply for the East Africa Tourist Visa. For those that shall consider Uganda and Kenya as your first destination, you need to apply at their immigration offices respectively. The visa is valid for 90 days. This means the holder can enter multiple times through the Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda as long as it is still valid however the holder first entry point should be the country where he applied for the visa.

Work shall not be permitted and the East Africa Tourist Visa shall not be extended. The application fee for the visa shall be 100 dollars.

Application Requirements.

 One clear colored passport size photo with a white background, and it should be recently taken.

A complete filled application form and a Visa application letter addressed to the issuing authority of the concerned country.

East African residents of Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya don’t need to apply for the visa. All they require is a valid national ID or student ID to enjoy their travel across all the three countries.

How is this going to impact tourism in East Africa?

My major concern was how this was going to impact tourism in East Africa so I sat down with a tourism expert Mr. Ronnie Mawejje -consultant of gorilla tour booking safaris,www.gorillatourbooking.com and this is what he told me.

He gave me scenarios of their clients who are interested in gorilla trekking: they often want to trek gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda in the same itinerary. Always they are required to pay visas for Uganda and Rwanda. This is somehow disturbing for them because they often have to go through almost the same process twice. Now with the East Africa tourist visa, this problem is going to be solved. However what shall remain is that these types of tourists shall still be required to pay for gorilla permits of both countries. Tour operators like gorilla tour booking safaris hope that this shall create a tourism virus among the East African residents something that all tour operators want to see.