Visa policy of Malawi

Policy on permits required to enter Malawi
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Visitors to Malawi must obtain a visa from one of the Malawian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries eligible for visa on arrival.[1]

Visa policy map

  Malawi
  Visa not required
  Visa on arrival / eVisa
  eVisa

Visa exemption

Citizens of the following countries and territories can visit Malawi for up to 90 days without a visa:[2]

In addition, on 7 February 2024, the Malawi government has waived requirements for citizens of the following countries to boost tourism:[3]

Date of visa changes
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2017)

Visa free

  • 7 February 2024 Resumed: Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, China Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana,[4] Guyana, Ireland, Italy, Maldives, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon, Islands, Sri Lanka, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

Cancelled:

  • 1 October 2015: Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Tonga, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu.[5][6][7]
  • 9 September 2016: Ireland[8]

Visa on arrival

  • 1 October 2015: Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China,* Colombia,* Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland (Rep.), Italy, Japan, Jordan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos., Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,* Romania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, San Marino, Serbia,* Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, United Arab Emirates,* United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vatican and Vietnam
  • 9 September 2016: Ireland

Cancelled:

  • 17 May 2016: Morocco and Niger[9]
  • 9 September 2016: Algeria, Angola, China,* Colombia,* Cuba, Djibouti, Eritrea, India, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritania, Nepal, Oman, Qatar,* Senegal, Serbia,* Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates*[10][11]
  • 25 March 2020: All ”Visa on arrival” countries are required to have e-Visa. Malawi does not issue visas on arrival anymore. There is no information available if this is permanent change or temporary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

* - these countries are in both lists (visa on arrival and visa is required)

Holders of diplomatic, service or official passports of any country traveling on duty do not require a visa for 90 days. And Laissez-Passer holders of United Nations, African Union, African Development Bank, International Red Locust Control Organization for Central and Southern Africa and Preferential Trade Area.

Holders of confirmed onward tickets for a maximum transit time of 24 hours can transit without a visa through Malawi. This facility is not applicable to nationals of Egypt, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Visa on arrival

Nationals of certain countries may obtain a visa on arrival to Malawi. The information on which countries are eligible is inconsistent.

Depending on the purpose of visit, a traveler who has a valid visa is granted a Visitors Permit (VP) or Business Visit (BV) at the port of entry valid for 30 days and can be extended up to a maximum period of 90 days.[12]

According to a document published by the Department of Immigration, nationals of all countries that are not visa exempt may obtain a visa on arrival. This is not applicable to nationals of the following countries: [13]

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)

Malawi launched an e-Visa application system on 1 November 2019.[14][15][16]

See also

  • flagMalawi portal
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Malawi.

References

  1. ^ "How to get there - Passports & Visas".
  2. ^ "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Malawi government".
  4. ^ "Ghana and Malawi introduce visa-free".
  5. ^ "Visa New Regime October 2015 (PDF)" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Malawi Introduces Visas for European, Asian Visitors".
  7. ^ "Immigration Documents".
  8. ^ "Revised Visa Country Categories October 2016 (PDF)" (PDF).
  9. ^ "PRESS STATEMENT On 17 May 2016 (PDF)" (PDF).
  10. ^ Was granted from 1 October 2015
  11. ^ "PRESS RELEASE of Department of Immigration (PDF)" (PDF).
  12. ^ "::Department of Immigration Republic of Malawi::". Archived from the original on 2018-05-10. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  13. ^ "Countries need Visa – Department of Immigration. Republic of Malawi". Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  14. ^ "Malawi eVisa".
  15. ^ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=144387233620652&id=102389571153752 [user-generated source]
  16. ^ "Malawi : le pays lance son service de visa électronique".

External links

  • List of nationalities who require a visa
  • List of nationalities who are visa exempt
  • eVisa portal
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Visa policy by country
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1 British Overseas Territories. 2 These countries span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia. 3 Partially recognized. 4 Unincorporated territory of the United States. 5 Part of the Kingdom of Denmark. 6 Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia.

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Visa requirements by citizenship
Africa
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1 British Overseas Territories. 2 Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia and the partially recognised republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia each span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia. 3 Cyprus, Armenia, and the partially recognised republic of Northern Cyprus are entirely in Western Asia but have socio-political connections with Europe. 4 Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia. 5 Partially recognized.

Immigration law