Botswana Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into Botswana.
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Guide
Botswana is generous with visas. Citizens of more than 100 countries, including all EU states, the Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico, can enter visa free for up to 90 days within any 365 day period. Neighbors like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Namibia are included, and Namibian citizens can enter on an identity card alone under a February 2023 agreement. Everyone except Namibians needs a passport valid for at least six months, and travelers who need a visa can use the eVisa system launched on 12 August 2021.
The border people write about is a bridge. The Kazungula Bridge, completed on 10 May 2021, is 923 meters long and cost about 259 million US dollars, and it carries two car lanes in each direction, a single rail track, and a pedestrian walkway on each side.
Border crossings
- Kazungula Bridge, over the Zambezi to Zambia
Pedestrians can walk across on the footpaths. Going from Zambia to Botswana, both immigration offices are on the Botswana side, and going from Botswana to Zambia, they are together in one building on the Zambian side. The crossing sits at the quadripoint where Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia meet.
- A day trip to Chobe from the Zambia and Zimbabwe side
The KAZA visa sold by Zambia and Zimbabwe covers day trips to Chobe National Park in Botswana at Kazungula, so a Victoria Falls stay can include a day in Botswana without a separate visa.
Transit routes
- Walking the bridge
Guides describe walking across as a normal way to cross, with the offices on one side handling both countries' formalities.
- Check your passport validity for a border day trip
Botswana asks for six months of validity, and a KAZA day trip still involves a border crossing.
Entry point notes
- The 365 day window is unusual
Ninety days are counted within any 365 day period, not 180, so repeated trips add up differently from Schengen.
- Namibians can use an ID card
Other nationalities need a passport valid for at least six months.