Ethiopia tourist visa: fees, stay and extension

The VT is meant for tourism and other purposes that have nothing to do with business: sightseeing, visiting friends or relatives, attending religious festivals as a visitor, trekking or a short private stay. The portal says that citizens of all countries are eligible as long as they meet the basic requirements, so no nationality is excluded from the online route.

Anyone travelling for business, joint ventures or related activities is told to use the Business and Related Studies Visa (BRV) instead. Parents travelling on a business visa are told to request tourist visas for their children, because business visas are not issued to anyone under 18.

Two options are published. A single-entry visa for up to 30 days costs USD 62 and a single-entry visa for up to 90 days costs USD 152. The portal states that e-Visa application fees are not refunded, including when an application is rejected. Validity starts on the arrival date you enter in the form, so choose that date carefully: an early arrival before that date is not covered, and a late arrival shortens the time you have.

The visa on arrival offered to listed nationalities belongs to the same tourist category. The portal does not publish a separate fee table for it, so check the amount before travelling if you plan to use that channel.

Online: you create the application on evisa.gov.et, upload a colour scan of your passport and a colour passport photo, pay by card and receive the decision by email. The approved visa is downloaded with your passport number and reference code. The portal will not issue an e-Visa if the arrival date is more than three months after the application date.

On arrival: nationals of the countries on the portal’s visa-on-arrival list, among them Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, India, Russia, Türkiye, the Gulf states and most African states, can obtain the tourist visa when they land. Applying online first gives certainty before departure.

Border officers can refuse entry to an e-Visa holder without giving a reason, as with any other visa. Your passport must remain valid for at least six months after the planned entry date. During the stay, a tourist must not take up work or be found at any organisation; a change of purpose needs the matching visa.

If you later wish to stay for work, study or family reasons, ICS issues residence IDs inside Ethiopia, but each requires its own supporting letters, for example from the employer, the Ministry of Education or an Ethiopian spouse.

An extension must be requested before the visa expires. The portal lists an extension fee of USD 102 for a 30-day extension and USD 302 for a 90-day extension. Short extensions of 1 to 15 days are handled online, while longer requests are made in person at the ICS head office at Gotera Interchange, Kirkos sub-city, Addis Ababa.

Staying beyond the visa without an extension is treated as overstay and leads to fines and legal penalties. Keep the extension approval with your passport until you leave.