Tanzania Visas, Taxes and Money for Digital Nomads

Most Western nationalities, including British, EU, Canadian, Australian and US citizens, need a visa. Some African and Commonwealth nationalities are exempt.

• Ordinary visa: $50, single entry, for tourism or visiting, with a stay of up to 90 days.
• US citizens: a multiple-entry visa for $100, valid for up to a year, with each stay capped at 90 days.
• Multiple-entry visa: available to other nationalities for $100, on application.
• Business visa: for short business trips such as meetings, but not for taking a job.

Apply for the e-visa online before you travel; processing usually takes a few days to a couple of weeks, and you need a passport valid for at least six months with a blank page. Visa on arrival is available at main airports and borders, single entry only, and you may be asked for a return ticket.

Tanzania isn’t part of the East Africa Tourist Visa, which covers only Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

The law is silent. Tanzanian immigration and labour law require a permit for any work in Tanzania, but they don’t specifically address someone working online for a foreign employer or foreign clients. In practice, nomads on Zanzibar work on ordinary visas without problems, but you are relying on a grey area. Don’t take any work from a Tanzanian company or client without a work permit.

Overstaying can lead to arrest, detention, a fine and deportation. Extensions beyond 90 days are at the discretion of the immigration department and aren’t a reliable way to stay longer, so plan to leave in time or move onto a residence permit.

Visitors to both Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania must buy the government’s inbound travel insurance, except residents and citizens of exempt regional countries. It costs about $44 per adult, covers up to 92 days, and is bought once, at your first point of entry:

• Arriving in Zanzibar first: from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC), online or on arrival.
• Arriving on the mainland first: from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC).

It is basic emergency cover. Keep your own nomad health insurance with medical evacuation.

To live in Tanzania for more than 90 days, you need a residence permit from the immigration department. There are three classes:

• Class A: investors and self-employed people running a registered business in Tanzania, usually with a significant investment and often registration with the Tanzania Investment Centre.
• Class B: employees of a Tanzanian employer, issued together with a work permit from the Labour Commissioner.
• Class C: others, including retirees, volunteers, students, researchers and missionaries.

None of these is designed for remote workers paid from abroad, and they take time and paperwork, often through a lawyer or agent. A Class A permit means setting up a real business in Tanzania, which brings tax and licensing obligations.

Tanzania taxes residents on worldwide income and non-residents on income from Tanzanian sources. You are tax resident if you have a permanent home in Tanzania, or are in the country for 183 days or more in a tax year, or for an average of more than 122 days a year over the current and two previous years.

• Resident rates run from 0% to 30%, with the top rate on monthly income above TZS 1 million (about $400).
• Short-term residents, people who have been resident for no more than two years in total, are taxed only on Tanzanian-source income.
• Non-residents pay a flat 15% on Tanzanian employment income.

Income for work done in Tanzania counts as Tanzanian-source, so a long stay could in principle make your remote income taxable there. Nomads on 90-day visits rarely meet the residency tests. This is a general guide, not tax advice; read our digital nomad tax guide and get local advice if you stay longer. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) administers income tax in Zanzibar as well as the mainland.

The currency is the Tanzanian shilling (TZS), at roughly 2,500 shillings to the US dollar. US dollars were long used for rent, hotels and safaris, but foreign-currency regulations introduced in 2025 require most prices to be quoted and paid in shillings. Some tourist bookings, such as safaris and hotels, are still priced in dollars for foreign visitors. Carry shillings for daily life and change money only at banks or licensed bureaux de change.

ATMs are common in towns and at the main airports, less so on Zanzibar’s east coast. They dispense shillings, with limits of a few hundred thousand shillings per withdrawal and a fee for foreign cards. Use ATMs inside banks to reduce the risk of card cloning, and always decline the ATM’s currency conversion. Cards work in larger hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, but much of daily life runs on cash.

Mobile money is how Tanzanians pay for almost everything. M-Pesa (Vodacom), Airtel Money and Mixx by Yas (formerly Tigo Pesa) can be used with a registered SIM, and many landlords, drivers and shops accept them. Opening a Tanzanian bank account at banks such as CRDB, NMB or Stanbic usually needs a residence permit, so most nomads rely on foreign cards, cash and mobile money.