Tanzania now requires visitors to buy travel insurance — $44 for adults
Tanzania has joined the growing list of destinations that require visitors to carry travel insurance — and the new rule is not satisfied by just any policy. As of Oct. 1, most inbound foreigners must hold a specific policy issued through Tanzanian channels, even if they already bought trip insurance or get coverage from a travel credit card.
The requirement sits in Section 134A of Tanzania's Insurance Act (Cap. 394), amended by the Finance Act 2025. It applies to visitors entering by air, land or sea. Transit passengers, diplomats, selected work and residence permit holders, and some residents of other African states are exempt, but most American and other Western tourists heading for the country's safari parks and beaches will need coverage.
How to buy it — and what it costs
Where you purchase the policy depends on your arrival point, The Points Guy reports. Coming in through mainland Tanzania — Kilimanjaro International Airport near Arusha or Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam — means buying through the National Insurance Corporation. Entering via Zanzibar means getting a policy from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation. Either policy allows travel between the mainland and the islands.
The coverage is designed to give tourists emergency help, including for accidents, health crises and repatriation, and it also covers things like baggage delays and theft. Premiums run about $44 per adult and $22 per child aged 3 to 17, with a 10% discount for groups of 10 or more. Children under 3 are free.
A single policy is valid for up to 92 days and allows multiple entries, so you could land in Tanzania, cross into another African country by car and return on the same coverage as long as the whole trip stays under that window.
The mandate lines up with an existing requirement in Zanzibar and follows a similar rule Kenya introduced. The practical takeaway: it is a small line item next to the cost of a safari, but skip it and you could be delayed — or turned away — on arrival. Anyone with an upcoming trip needs to buy the correct policy before flying.