Tanzania investor visa: Residence Permit Class A

Class A may be granted to a person who intends to enter or remain in Tanzania for self-employed investment. The matrix has four categories, all for shareholders and directors of a company or institution: A-1 professional artist investors in companies registered with BASATA (USD 1,000), A-2 diaspora investors whose nationality of origin was Tanzanian (USD 1,000), A-3 investors in any other sector or industry (USD 3,000, USD 1,500 for East African Community citizens) and A-4 refugee investors (USD 1,500). A foreign entrepreneur setting up or joining a Tanzanian company falls under A-3.

For every category the company's minimum investment capital may not be below the minimum stipulated in the Investment Act. Official immigration pages do not repeat the amount, so check it with the Tanzania Investment Centre before applying.

All residence permit applicants who will work must first obtain a work permit from the Labour Commissioner. For investors this is work permit Class A, issued to self-employed foreign investors, with a fee of USD 1,000 in the schedule to the Non-Citizens (Employment Regulation) Act. A work permit normally runs for 24 months with renewals capped at eight years in total, but for an investor whose contribution to the economy or to the wellbeing of Tanzanians is of great value, the total may exceed ten years.

The Class A list is long. It includes the online application and an application letter, the Class A work permit, a passport valid for six months, passports of dependants, a photo, sector licences where the business needs regulatory approval, the TIC, ZIPA or EPZA certificate of incentive if the project is registered there, the memorandum and articles of association or a registrar extract showing shareholders and capital, the certificate of incorporation, a valid business licence, the TIN certificate, a valid tax clearance, the lease agreement or certificate of occupancy, evidence of capital (and financial statements for a replacement), the BRELA list of current directors and shareholders, the immigration status of the applicant and other shareholders, and employment contracts of local employees.

Some sectors need extra clearances, for example a CRB certificate for construction, a TIRA no-objection for insurance, Bank of Tanzania clearance for financial activities, a tour operator licence from the Ministry of Tourism, TCRA registration for telecoms and media, or a mining licence.

Applications go through the integrated work and residence permit system: once the Labour Commissioner grants the work permit, the file moves to the Immigration Services Department. Companies registered with the Tanzania Investment Centre and holding a certificate of incentive can lodge Class A applications through the TIC window, EPZA licence holders through EPZA, and Zanzibar investors registered with ZIPA through ZIPA. After approval, the fee is paid within 60 days, the investor enrols fingerprints and a photo, and the permit is issued in about a week and can be collected at TIC, EPZA, ZIPA or an immigration office. The residence permit brochure notes that Class A, unlike Classes B and C, does not have to be obtained before coming into the country.

Permits are valid for at most two years and may be renewed. A renewal (Replacement) requires the previous original Class A permit and financial statements, and a change from Class B to Class A in the same company is filed as a Second Grant. The department may carry out a physical verification visit of the business. Appeals against refusals go to the Minister of Home Affairs and must be lodged from outside the country.