A Zanzibar visa is simply the visa of the United Republic of Tanzania: Zanzibar has no visa of its own, so you enter on Tanzanian rules. For a medical elective or nursing placement, the purpose of your stay decides the category, not just its length. Most students apply online before travel, budget 50 US dollars for a single entry and add the compulsory inbound travel insurance.
Researched and editorially reviewed by Nils-Andre Stritt, travel4med. Nils-Andre organises placements and pre-departure preparation for our four destinations, including Zanzibar.
A Zanzibar visa is the standard Tanzanian visa, because Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania. The Embassy of Tanzania in Paris defines a visa as permission to enter for a specific period and lists visit, holiday, business, health treatment and studies as purposes. All foreigners need one unless their country has a visa abolition agreement.
What changes on the islands is the office, not the rule for your Zanzibar visa. The same embassy page gives two contact points for immigration questions: the Principal Commissioner of Immigration Services in Dar es Salaam and a separate Commissioner of Immigration Services in Zanzibar. For you, that means one application through the official Tanzanian system, whether you fly straight to Zanzibar or come via the mainland.
On entry you're given a Visitor's Pass. According to the Paris embassy, it is valid for up to three months (six months for citizens of East African Community states). That three-month ceiling matters for planning, because almost every visa rule below hangs on it.
Not sure which hospital you would join? Our Zanzibar destination page explains the placement at Lumumba Regional Hospital, and our guide to a nursing placement in Zanzibar walks through a typical ward day.
Secure your spot for your internship abroad now.
The category follows the purpose of your stay. A clinical elective or nursing placement is a study activity, not a beach holiday. Tanzanian missions list studies as a visa purpose, the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur shows a 50 US dollar student visa for academic stays up to three months, and non-tourist travellers must add a letter from their organisation.
Here is what the official pages actually say, so you can see where the line runs:
So which Zanzibar visa box is yours? We won't guess on behalf of Tanzanian immigration, and neither should a forum. Describe your placement honestly in the application (dates, hospital, supervised student role), attach your placement confirmation and your university letter, and if the portal leaves you unsure, ask the Tanzanian mission responsible for your country in writing before you pay. Our destination page promises the same thing in practice: after booking, our team goes through the entry formalities with you and sends a step by step guide.
Your own medical school has a say too, separate from the Zanzibar visa. Whether the placement counts towards your degree is decided by your faculty's elective office, not by the visa, so get that approval in parallel (our medical elective application timeline shows when).
A standard Zanzibar visa costs 50 US dollars for a single entry, about 45 EUR at the European Central Bank rate of 3 November 2026 (1 EUR = 1.1179 USD). A multiple-entry visa costs 100 US dollars and a transit visa 30. Fees are set in US dollars and vary by nationality and mission.
The table brings the official figures together. The EUR column is our conversion for orientation only, and your card or bank will use its own rate.
| Visa type | Fee in USD | About in EUR | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary (single entry), most nationalities | 50 | 45 | Tanzania High Commission, Kuala Lumpur; Embassy in Paris |
| Ordinary visa for citizens of the USA or Ireland | 100 | 89 | Embassy of Tanzania in Paris |
| Ordinary visa for citizens of Pakistan | 200 | 179 | Embassy of Tanzania in Paris |
| Student visa, academic stay up to 3 months | 50 | 45 | Tanzania High Commission, Kuala Lumpur |
| Multiple entry | 100 | 89 | Tanzania High Commission, Kuala Lumpur |
| Business | 250 | 224 | Tanzania High Commission, Kuala Lumpur |
| Transit | 30 | 27 | Tanzania High Commission, Kuala Lumpur |
Two notes on the money. First, the Zanzibar visa fee is final: the Paris embassy says visa fees are non-refundable, so check your category before you pay rather than after. Second, the fee is only one line of your budget. Our Zanzibar currency guide explains the Tanzanian shilling, cash and cards on the island.
Apply for the eVisa before you fly. That is the UK government's advice to British travellers, and it is the safer plan for any student: you land with an approved visa and your placement letter already checked. A single-entry visa on arrival exists at the main entry points, but it depends on meeting every immigration requirement there and then.
The FCDO entry page (updated 30 October 2026) adds a few details that matter for placement students:
A study category is a different case again for your Zanzibar visa. The student visa sits on the mission fee lists, not in the FCDO's on-arrival wording, so plan to apply for it in advance through the official channel. You start at the website of the Immigration Services Department of Tanzania, which links to the e-services and the eVisa application form.
Besides the Zanzibar visa, plan for five more checks: a passport valid for at least six months with a blank page, a return or onward ticket, the compulsory inbound travel insurance, a yellow fever certificate if you arrive from a risk country, and the current health screening. The insurance rules were updated on 1 October 2026.
Passport. The FCDO says your passport must be valid for at least six months after the date you arrive and have at least one blank page. That wording is written for British passport holders, so check the rule for your own nationality with your Tanzanian mission.
Inbound travel insurance. This one surprises people. The FCDO says all visitors to mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, except residents, must have the Tanzanian government-provided inbound travel insurance, even if they already have a personal policy. It is valid for the duration of your stay, up to 92 days, and you only buy it for your first port of entry. For policies bought after 1 October 2026:
That government cover does not replace insurance for clinical work. Our medical elective insurance guide explains health, liability and repatriation cover for a placement. German-speaking readers in Switzerland get the same topic, framed for Swiss students, in our sister site's Swiss guide to the Zanzibar visa for a placement.
Yellow fever. The FCDO says you need a yellow fever certificate if you come from a country with a risk of transmission. Your flight route decides this, and our yellow fever vaccine guide explains the layover rule.
Health screening. The FCDO reports that on 17 October 2026 Tanzania's Ministry of Health announced heightened screening at all points of entry for travellers from high-risk regions and countries affected by Ebola. All travellers must fill out the Travellers Health Surveillance Form before departure or on arrival, and mpox temperature checks run at all points of entry.
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Start your Zanzibar visa preparation about two months before you fly. That leaves room for your university paperwork, a possible question from immigration and the vaccines, which take their own lead time. These seven steps follow the order in which documents become available, so nothing blocks the next step.
Doing this for Sri Lanka or Nepal as well? Our visa guide for Sri Lanka and Nepal covers those routes, and the packing list for a clinical internship abroad helps with the folder you carry.
Up to three months per visit. The Paris embassy says an ordinary single-entry visa covers a stay of no more than three months, and the Visitor's Pass you get on entry is valid for up to three months. A multiple-entry visa runs from three months to one year, but no single stay may exceed 90 days.
That fits most placements we organise, which start every Monday. It also lines up with the 92-day limit of the inbound insurance. Planning more than three months, for example a long final-year block? Then the short-stay categories no longer fit, and a residence permit enters the picture: the Paris embassy lists Class C for students and volunteers and notes that residence permits are not issued at embassies. Talk to us and to the immigration authority before you book flights.
Overstaying your Zanzibar visa is not a paperwork slip. The FCDO warns that if you overstay your visa or permit, you can be arrested, detained and fined before being deported. Keep your exit date in your calendar from day one.
For a wider view of the region, our guide to medical electives in Africa compares Zanzibar with other options. The Austrian sister site has its own guide to the Zanzibar visa for Austrian students, and travel4med belongs to the futuredoctor group ecosystem of medical education services.
Planning your placement in Zanzibar? We place medical, nursing and physician assistant students at Lumumba Regional Hospital for medical electives, clinical placements including the final-year placement, nursing placements and observerships for doctors, starting every Monday. After booking, we go through the Zanzibar visa and entry steps with you. Book a free consultation or compare all our destinations.
OTHER BLOGS
Do you need a yellow fever vaccine for a placement in Zanzibar, Sri Lanka, Nepal or Bali? See the entry rules, the transit trap and when to book. Plan now.
MUDr. Andreas Zehetner
3. November 2026
The Zanzibar currency is the Tanzanian shilling (TZS). See the euro and dollar rate, the banknotes, the 2025 rule on dollar prices and how to pay on placement.
Nils-Andre Stritt
1. November 2026
Need a Japanese encephalitis vaccine for an elective in Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bali? See who it suits, the two-dose schedule, timing and boosters. Plan it now.
MUDr. Andreas Zehetner
29. October 2026