Onward ticket for Tanzania and Zanzibar: the return-ticket rule

What Tanzania and your airline may ask for

• A copy of your passport’s biographic page, with six months’ validity and one unused page.
• A return ticket, submitted with the e-Visa application.
• The completed online application and declaration form, and the US$50 fee.
• The same return ticket, shown to the immigration officer at the entry point.
• Inbound travel insurance: NIC for the mainland, ZIC for Zanzibar (one policy covers both).

Two checks on the same return ticket

The immigration department’s e-Visa guidelines say the Ordinary Visa application “should be accompanied with” four things: a copy of the passport’s biographic page, a return ticket, the completed online application and declaration form, and the visa fee. The guidelines then repeat the point for arrival: “Visitors MUST show their Return Ticket upon arrival (at the entry point) in Tanzania”.

The wording matters. Tanzania says return ticket, not reservation. The only category allowed to upload a trip itinerary instead of a flight ticket is the Referral category, and India is not in it. A held reservation is a real booking that shows your return date, but it is not a ticket, and the desk cannot promise Tanzanian immigration will accept it in place of one. The guidelines also note that a Visa Grant Notice “is not a final authority to enter”: the officer at the entry point can still refuse.

e-Visa or visa on arrival

Indian passport holders are on Tanzania’s list of nationals who can get a visa on arrival, which the guidelines say makes them eligible for both the online and the on-arrival facility. India is one of the Commonwealth countries specifically excluded from the visa exemption, so you do need a visa. The Ordinary Visa costs US$50, is valid for up to 90 days, and covers Zanzibar as well as the mainland.

The department recommends applying online at visa.immigration.go.tz. Applications are processed within ten days, payment is by Visa or MasterCard, and the Visa Grant Notice arrives by e-mail. The guidelines tell applicants to wait for it before starting the journey. There is no VFS or BLS centre for Tanzania; everything happens online or at the entry point.

The insurance rule from 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026, visitors to mainland Tanzania need inbound travel insurance from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC), costing US$44 and valid for up to 92 days, as a Norwegian Embassy notice of 30 September 2026 sets out. Zanzibar has reportedly required its own inbound cover, from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, since October 2024. One policy covers both, and residents of EAC and SADC countries are exempt.

Buy it through the official portals, inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz for the mainland or inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz for Zanzibar, and make its dates match your return booking. Travellers without it are reported to risk being refused entry.

Timing your return booking

For the e-Visa, order the return reservation on the day you apply and check the names and dates as soon as it arrives. Processing can take up to ten days, and the airline sets how long an unpaid hold lasts, so it will usually have lapsed before the Grant Notice reaches you. At arrival the officer at Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar or Kilimanjaro is asking for a ticket, and a paid, refundable one leaves nothing to argue about. If you show a reservation at the border instead, order it for the day you fly.

Flying in from India

Air Tanzania flies Mumbai to Dar es Salaam (DAR) without a stop, reported as daily from 1 June 2026. No direct flight from India to Zanzibar (ZNZ) or Kilimanjaro (JRO) was found, so safari and beach trips usually connect, either in Dar es Salaam or through Nairobi, Addis Ababa or a Gulf hub such as Dubai, Doha or Muscat. Book the return from the airport you will actually leave, so the ticket the officer sees matches the trip you describe.

Flying from India to Tanzania

Your reservation should follow a route you could realistically fly. These are common options; schedules change, so the desk confirms what is bookable for your dates.

Mistakes to avoid with a Tanzania trip

• Flying before the Visa Grant Notice arrives; the guidelines say to wait for it.
• Uploading a one-way booking when the list asks for a return ticket.
• Skipping the inbound insurance, mandatory on the mainland from 1 October 2026.
• Buying separate cover for Zanzibar and the mainland when one policy covers both.
• Expecting the reservation used for the e-Visa to still be live at the arrival desk weeks later.
• Treating the Grant Notice as entry; the officer at the entry point may still refuse.

Dummy ticket and hotel bookings, matched to your itinerary

We do not send one loose document. The desk matches the flight reservation and every hotel booking to your itinerary: the same dates, the same cities, and no night left uncovered. These are the real documents of one order for a Switzerland visa file, issued on 5 November 2026: one flight reservation and four hotel bookings that cover all 9 nights between the two flights. Personal details are blacked out; everything else is as issued.

• Flight reservationEtihad, Hyderabad (HYD) to Zurich (ZRH), status Confirmed
• Hotel booking, ZurichMEININGER Hotel Zürich Greencity, 3 nights
• Hotel booking, GenevaB&B HOTEL Geneva Airport, 3 nights
• Hotel booking, LucerneSeminarhotel Romerohaus, 2 nights
• Hotel booking, Zurich AirportLeonardo Hotel Zurich Airport, 1 night

Open the full documents and the day-by-day table: flight and hotels matched date by date

How to get your Tanzania onward ticket

Tanzania questions, answered