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
🇹🇿 Tanzania
None, visa on arrival and e-Visa, no pre-travel authorisation
None, visa on arrival and e-Visa, no pre-travel authorisation
Checked and no ETA found. EAC members, SADC members except Comoros, and Commonwealth countries except the UK, Canada, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand enter without a visa. Others use an e-Visa or a visa on arrival.
It's required for nothing before travel for visa-exempt nationalities.
It's optional for online application available to all; recommended but not required for those eligible on arrival.
The fee is USD 50.
Explicitly so. The guidelines state that a Visa Grant Notice is not final authority to enter, and an immigration officer at the entry point may still refuse.
Good to know
No ETA, but Tanzania operates a differential access tier that no openness measure captures. Nigeria sits in the Referral Visa category: online application only, approval required before travel, submission advised at least two months ahead, local host details and an invitation letter addressed to the Commissioner General. Applicants are advised not to book flights until approved. Nigeria is also named as one of seven Commonwealth countries excluded from the Commonwealth visa waiver. A Kenyan or Malawian enters freely; a Nigerian needs two months and a Commissioner General's approval.
Sources
Still confirming: Whether any separate arrival or customs declaration must be filed before departure; Tanzania's AVOI 2025 score and rank; The full Referral Visa country list, and when Nigeria was added
Checked 2026-08-07.
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.