Come August 1, no visa to Uganda, no boarding your flight

Confirmation was received earlier today that Uganda will indeed shut the door in the face of wannabe visitors who arrive at either Entebbe International Airport or the various land borders without having applied for and obtained an e-Visa in advance.

Cut off is supposedly August 1, when the parallel system of both e-applications and manual processing on arrival will cease.

It appears that airlines have been told to deny boarding to any passengers heading to Entebbe unless they can show proof of having applied for a visa and obtained one in advance.

Only days ago, Uganda had to reverse a decision taken a year ago when the country raised single entry visa fees to US$100, resulting in a downturn of arrivals. The revised visa fee is now US$50 again, but the insistence on only using e-applications will no doubt also prevent people from traveling to Uganda, in particular those who habitually decide at very short notice, often taking advantage of last-minute extra cheap airfares.

As of August 1, therefore, all visa applications have to go through the online process and without exception. It is anticipated that airlines will refuse passengers to board without proof of the online visa duly completed in advance, due to the otherwise heavy fines levied on them for uplifting passengers with incomplete travel documents:

– Ordinary Visa
– East Africa Tourist Visa
– Multiple Entry Visa
– Transit Visa
– Diplomatic & Official Visa

Following are the links applicants need to follow when applying for a visa to enter Uganda, either with a single entry tourist visa or the East African Tourist Visa which also allows entry to Kenya and Rwanda:

visas.immigration.go.ug
visas.immigration.go.ug/#/help

Every effort will be made to ascertain if the parallel system of both e-application and manual processing of visa on arrival may be extended, but indications are that this may not be the case.