Visa requirements for Zimbabwean citizens

Zimbabwean citizens need a Schengen visa, which covers all member states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Of the 198 countries whose entry rules are known in both directions, Zimbabwe and 47 of them let each other’s citizens in without a visa obtained in advance (visa-free, on arrival or with an ETA; an e-visa counts as a visa).

97 countries ask holders of the Zimbabwean passport for a visa beforehand, although their own citizens enter Zimbabwe without one: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina and 92 others.

The reverse holds for 12 countries: holders of the Zimbabwean passport get in without a visa obtained in advance, but their citizens need one for Zimbabwe (Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Djibouti, Dominica and 7 others).

95 countries ask holders of the Zimbabwean passport for a visa obtained before travel from an embassy, a consulate or a visa centre. 19 of them have an embassy or consulate on record in Zimbabwe.

76 countries have no embassy or career consulate on record in Zimbabwe, so the application usually goes to one of their posts in another country. Counting the post an official diplomatic list names for Zimbabwe, or else the nearest one within 2,000 km, those posts are most often in South Africa (25), Zambia (3) and Kenya (2).

The United States refused 38% of visitor-visa (B1/B2) applications from citizens of Zimbabwe in fiscal year 2025, by the State Department’s adjusted refusal rate. 114 of the 197 nationalities with a published rate had a lower one and 82 a higher one; the middle value was 32%.

Visa-free travel with the Zimbabwean passport

By continent, the Zimbabwean passport is visa-free in 19 countries in Africa, 8 countries in the Americas, 6 countries in Asia and 3 countries in Oceania. The longest visa-free stays for Zimbabwean citizens are allowed in Barbados (180 days), Fiji (120 days), Vanuatu (120 days), Benin (90 days), the Bahamas (90 days) and Botswana (90 days).

Visa on arrival

Zimbabwean citizens can get a visa at the airport or land border of Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, the Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia and 14 others.

E-Visa and electronic travel authorisation

An e-Visa, applied for online before the trip, is how Zimbabwean citizens enter Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso and 37 others. Ivory Coast, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Suriname ask instead for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a lighter online check than a visa.

Zimbabwe’s neighbours

South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia admit Zimbabwean citizens without a visa.

How the passport compares

Among neighbouring passports, the South African passport ranks 97th (95 destinations), the passport of Botswana ranks 116th (73 destinations), the Zambian passport ranks 135th (63 destinations) and the Mozambican passport ranks 146th (57 destinations). Of the 198 passports in the data, 41 can enter visa-free, 103 get a visa on arrival and 54 need an e-Visa for Zimbabwe.