Mandatory travel insurance for Tanzania

Last checked: 2 October 2026

Since 1 October 2026, you only get into Tanzania with Tanzanian travel insurance. For the mainland you buy it from the National Insurance Corporation, the NIC, and it costs the shilling equivalent of USD 44 per person, at the 2026 rate. Your own travel insurance from home does not count towards it.

Zanzibar has had this rule since October 2024, with its own policy. What is new is that it now covers the whole country, and that a trip with safari and beach needs only one policy.

What you need, mainland and Zanzibar side by side

Check the amount when you apply. On the mainland you pay in shillings, so what you end up paying moves with the exchange rate, and rates can change.

You buy the policy for the place you land

One policy is enough, and which one depends on where you first enter Tanzania. That is how the Tanzanian government announced it at the end of September 2026, through the Tanzania High Commission in London and through the NIC itself.

You land at Kilimanjaro or in Dar es Salaam. You buy the NIC policy. If you fly on to Zanzibar after your safari, you do not need a second policy there.

You land directly on Zanzibar. You buy the ZIC policy. If you go on to the mainland afterwards, you do not need the NIC policy as well.

Most of the trips we plan start at Kilimanjaro, head into the parks first and finish by the sea. That means the NIC policy, and only that one.

Take the certificate with you on your flight to Zanzibar. The island has its own immigration desk, even after a domestic flight from the Serengeti, and there you show your passport and your insurance again.

What the policy covers, and what it does not

According to the NIC, the policy covers medical emergencies, emergency dental care, lost luggage and medical evacuation or repatriation. How much it pays out for each is not stated on the portal.

Think of it as your entry ticket, with basic cover attached. It does not replace your own travel insurance from home. Keep your own travel and health insurance, and check that it has worldwide cover, including medical care abroad and medical evacuation.

Always buy it in advance

You buy the policy online with a debit or credit card, and you receive a certificate to show on arrival.

The NIC portal says you can also buy it in cash on arrival. The same page says you must have it before you arrive. Those two sentences contradict each other, and after a long-haul flight the arrivals desk is not where you want to find out which one holds.

So buy it a few weeks before you fly. Keep the certificate on your phone and a printed copy in your hand luggage. Without a valid policy, you can be refused entry at the border.

Everyone needs their own policy

The policy is per person. Travelling with your partner or your children, each of you buys one. The NIC portal gives a single rate per person, with no lower child rate like the one on Zanzibar. Check this when you apply for your children.

This is new, and it shows

The mainland rule has applied since 1 October 2026, and the news that one policy is enough only came out at the end of September. Border procedures are still finding their feet. What you read elsewhere may date from before then.

Check the official sources just before you leave: inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz for the mainland, inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz for Zanzibar, and your own government's travel advice. We keep this page up to date, and the date at the top tells you when we last went through it.

The order to sort everything in

1. Three months before you fly. Check that your passport is valid for at least six months after arrival and has a blank visa page.

2. Six weeks before you fly. Book an appointment with your doctor or a travel clinic for malaria tablets and vaccinations.

3. Three weeks before you fly. Apply for your Tanzania visa at visa.immigration.go.tz.

4. Two weeks before you fly. Buy the mandatory insurance, NIC or ZIC, depending on where you land.

5. The day before you fly. Passport, visa and insurance certificate in one folder on your phone, and printed in your hand luggage.

You do not have to work this out alone

Rules change here, as they did again on 1 October 2026. Book with us and after booking you receive an email with everything you need to arrange, in the right order and with the right links. The applications are yours to make, because they involve your passport and your details. Working out what applies is our job, from Moshi.

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