An Aerial View travel guide
Do you need to apply before you fly?
A growing number of African countries now ask you to apply for entry permission online before you travel, even without a visa. Miss it and you can be turned away at boarding.
We track what each scheme actually asks for, so you can sort it out before you book, not after.
Needs one
Seychelles
Compulsory for everyone
Needs nothing
Rwanda
Visa on arrival, no pre-travel step
🇰🇪 Kenya
Electronic Travel Authorisation
Electronic Travel Authorisation · since 2024
eTA exemption granted to all African countries except Somalia and Libya, by Cabinet decision in January 2025. Most African visitors receive two months; East African Community nationals six months under EAC free movement protocols.
It's required for nationals of Somalia and Libya, and non-African nationalities.
Fee position after the waiver not yet established.
Processing capped at 72 hours, with an expedited option offering instant approval.
Airlines check for it before you board, so travelling without it can mean not flying at all.
Good to know
The closest thing to a natural experiment on the continent: same country, same borders, ETA on and ETA off, 43 places apart. Since this research, Somalia (from 1 September 2025) and Mauritania (from January 2025) have each launched their own mandatory eVisa/eTAS systems, Kenya's exclusion of Somalia and Libya from its waiver runs in one direction only; Somalia now separately requires an eVisa of everyone, Kenyans included.
Sources
- Africa Visa Openness Report 2025African Development Bank / African Union Commission
- Africa Visa Openness 2025: COMESA regional noteAfrican Development Bank / African Union Commission
- Kenya eTA exemption for African countriesGovernment of Kenya, Cabinet
- Country scores and rankings, 2025African Development Bank / African Union Commission
Still confirming: Whether any fee survives for Somali and Libyan nationals; Confirm the exemption is still in force
Checked 2026-08-15.
All 54 countries we cover
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- The Gambia
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Travelling somewhere not listed yet?
We're adding new countries as we confirm the details. Join the Aerial View community and we'll let you know as new destinations, trips and travel guides go live.
Explore Aerial ViewRules change without much notice, and we recheck each one on its own schedule. Last updated 2026-09-19. This page is a starting point for planning, not legal or immigration advice, always confirm with the destination country before you travel.
Curious about the numbers behind the destinations? See Tourism at a Glance. Not sure what you can pack? See what you can't carry across Africa.