The short answer
What to know first.
From 1 October 2026, foreign visitors entering mainland Tanzania by air, land or sea must hold an inbound travel insurance policy from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC), costing the shilling equivalent of US$44 and bought online at NIC's official portal, inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz. The date comes from the Tanzania High Commission's UK tourism guidance; the Regulations name none. The law exempts residents of East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) partner states; the High Commission says citizens. Per the same guidance, a valid Zanzibar (ZIC) policy counts instead if Zanzibar is your first entry. Cover lasts up to 92 days from arrival, re-entries included. NIC's 24-hour line: +255 736 100 800. Keep your own comprehensive travel insurance as well.
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At a glance
The planning brief.
The rule
From 1 October 2026, per the Tanzania High Commission's UK tourism guidance, most foreign visitors entering mainland Tanzania need an NIC inbound travel insurance policy.
Cost and validity
The Tanzanian shilling equivalent of US$44 per traveller, valid up to 92 days from arrival, re-entries included.
Mainland or Zanzibar
Per the High Commission, the first port of entry decides: NIC if the mainland comes first, ZIC if Zanzibar does.
Buy it here
Online at inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz before you fly; carry the certificate printed and on your phone. NIC's 24-hour line: +255 736 100 800.
01
When does Tanzania's mandatory travel insurance start?
The rule comes from the Insurance (Inbound Travel Insurance) Regulations, 2026, published as Government Notice No. 256 on 4 September 2026 under section 134A(5) of the Insurance Act (Cap. 394). They apply to foreigners entering mainland Tanzania through land borders, seaports or airports, and require each of them to hold a valid inbound travel insurance policy. Under regulation 4(4), a foreigner who arrives without one is to be denied entry. No fine is set.
The announced start date is 1 October 2026. It comes from the Tanzania High Commission's UK tourism guidance, not from the Regulations, which name no commencement or enforcement date (the law firm Clyde & Co makes the same point). Pages giving 4 September 2026 or 1 July 2025 as the start are supported by neither.
The policy is issued by NIC, or by a registered insurer working in partnership with NIC, and no insurer may provide it without the prior approval of the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA).
02
Who needs it: are EAC and SADC travellers exempt?
The Regulations apply to a foreigner, defined as a citizen of any country other than the United Republic of Tanzania but excluding residents of EAC or SADC partner states. Tanzanian citizens are not affected, and NIC's own FAQ uses the same residents wording.
The High Commission's guidance says instead that citizens of EAC and SADC member countries are exempt, as does much of the news coverage. For most visitors the difference changes nothing, but for the two travellers below the law and the guidance point in opposite directions, and no official source defines a resident or lists the documents that prove residence.
The Regulations name no other exemption and are silent on diplomats, aircrew, transit passengers, students and work-permit holders, so do not assume any of them is exempt. If your exemption turns on the two wordings, ask NIC in writing before travel and carry your residence documents, or buy the certificate.
A non-EAC citizen living in the region
For example, a US or British citizen who lives and works in Nairobi. Under the Regulations' residents wording this traveller appears exempt; under the High Commission's citizens wording they are not.
An EAC or SADC citizen living elsewhere
For example, a Kenyan citizen who lives in London. The High Commission's wording exempts them; the Regulations' residents wording does not clearly do so.
03
How to buy NIC inbound travel insurance
Buy through NIC's portal at inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz, which describes itself as the official government portal for Tanzania inbound travel insurance. NIC asks for passport information, travel dates, purpose of visit and basic personal details, takes payment online by debit or credit card, and issues a digital or printed certificate to present on arrival for verification.
The Regulations allow purchase before travel or at the entry point, and NIC's FAQ lists cash on arrival, yet the same FAQ says to obtain the policy before arrival and the High Commission says to assume pre-purchase only for now. We have found no official confirmation of sales at any named airport or border. Our view: a land border after a long drive, or a passport queue after a night flight, is the wrong place to test a new scheme's card terminal or cash desk. Buy it before you fly.
Use the official portal only: visa searches are crowded with third-party sites charging multiples of official fees for retyping a form. No official source says whether airlines will check the certificate at check-in. On arrival, have these to hand.
The certificate
Printed and saved on your phone, one for each foreign traveller, kept with the passport and e-visa.
Names that match
Each certificate in the name exactly as the passport reads, with the arrival date matching your flight or border crossing.
A copy for verification
The High Commission asks visitors to keep a copy of the NIC certificate available for verification.
Your own policy
The policy number and emergency line for your comprehensive travel insurance.
NIC's contacts
The 24-hour line, +255 736 100 800, and wecare.inbound@nicinsurance.co.tz, saved on your phone.
04
What the US$44 policy covers, and what it does not
Regulation 8(1) sets four benefits: emergency medical treatment, emergency medical evacuation, emergency repatriation and loss of luggage. The High Commission describes repatriation as covering a patient or remains. The Regulations' definition of loss of luggage refers to loss, theft or permanent misplacement of personal baggage on entry to mainland Tanzania.
Limits of cover are left to the policy (regulation 8(2)), and the insurer must disclose terms, exclusions and limits to the insured; we have not seen them published, so this page quotes none. Read the policy document NIC issues with your certificate. The premium is flat, with no age bands in the text, and the shilling figure moves with the exchange rate.
Your own comprehensive policy stays essential. Sail's standing advice is comprehensive cover from confirmation, including cancellation, medical treatment, evacuation, interruption, baggage and every activity in your itinerary, and your insurer, not Sail, should confirm in writing that it is adequate. Until NIC's terms say otherwise, do not assume the US$44 certificate covers any of the following.
Cancellation and curtailment
Neither is among the four required benefits. Do not assume it covers a trip you cannot start or have to cut short.
Kilimanjaro and high-altitude rescue
Emergency evacuation is a required benefit, but no source says whether it extends to mountain rescue or helicopter evacuation from altitude, or what limit applies. Climbers should have their own insurer confirm altitude and helicopter evacuation cover in writing; our Kilimanjaro and safari guide, linked below, covers the climb itself.
Activities, pre-existing conditions and pregnancy
Nothing published addresses balloon flights, walking safaris, pre-existing conditions or pregnancy for the mainland policy. Do not assume any of them is covered.
Delayed baggage, missed connections and liability
The luggage benefit is framed around loss, theft or permanent misplacement; delay is not mentioned. Do not assume delay, missed connections or liability are covered.
05
Do I need both Tanzania and Zanzibar insurance?
Zanzibar has run its own scheme since 1 October 2024: foreign visitors need a policy from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC), bought at inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz. ZIC's published FAQ puts the cost at US$44 per visitor and does not accept an international policy in its place.
The Tanzania High Commission's UK tourism guidance says you do not need both: the first port of entry decides. Arrive on the mainland first and you need the NIC policy, with no ZIC policy for onward Zanzibar. Arrive in Zanzibar first with a valid ZIC policy and you do not need the NIC policy for the mainland.
That answer rests on the High Commission's guidance alone: the mainland Regulations do not mention Zanzibar, and we have found no matching statement from ZIC or the Zanzibar authorities, so carry the certificate that matches your first entry and reconfirm the position before you travel. Common entry points on a northern Tanzania safari include Kilimanjaro International Airport and the Namanga border on the Nairobi to Arusha road; the rule is the same at every mainland entry point.
Kenya, then Kilimanjaro by air
Your first Tanzanian entry is the mainland, so you need the NIC policy, bought before the flight from Nairobi.
Kenya overland through Namanga
A land border into the mainland, so the NIC policy applies. Buy it in advance: no official source confirms sales at the border.
Safari first, Zanzibar last
The NIC policy on arrival at Kilimanjaro or Dar es Salaam; per the High Commission, no ZIC policy for the onward flight to Zanzibar.
Zanzibar first, then the Serengeti
International arrival at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport and a ZIC policy; per the High Commission, no NIC policy for the onward mainland safari. Check ZIC's policy wording for how its cover applies on the mainland.
06
How long it lasts: the 92 days and re-entry
The NIC policy is valid for up to 92 days from the date of arrival in mainland Tanzania (regulation 5(1)), and that validity includes multiple entries (regulation 5(2)). Read together, the window opens on your first arrival and runs for 92 days; re-entering inside it does not open a new one, and nothing in the text restarts the clock.
Arrive at Kilimanjaro, spend a week in the Serengeti, cross to Kenya for the Maasai Mara and return to Tanzania for a final chapter: one policy covers both Tanzanian entries, provided the second falls within 92 days of the first. Some pages describe the 92 days as applying per entry; the Regulations do not support that reading.
07
Children, stays over 92 days and refunds
Children. The Regulations set one flat premium, with no child rate, age band or infant exemption in the text, and neither NIC's FAQ nor the High Commission's guidance mentions children. Until NIC publishes something different, plan on one certificate for each foreign traveller, children and infants included, and check the portal's terms when you buy. Reported Zanzibar child rates are not on an official source and do not apply to the mainland; lodge child rates are unrelated.
Stays over 92 days. Beyond 92 days in mainland Tanzania the Regulations require a new policy; NIC's FAQ describes this as an extension arranged before the policy expires. Either way, act before day 92, not after it.
Refunds. The premium is non-refundable except on cancellation or in other circumstances the policy sets out. NIC says refunds depend on its refund policy and the timing of cancellation, but that policy is unpublished, so do not count on a refund for changed dates.
08
What Sail Safaris DMC does for your file
Sail Safaris DMC confirms the current requirement for each traveller's nationality and country of residence at booking and on the pre-departure brief. Residence matters as much as the passport here: under the Regulations, it is what the exemption turns on. The scheme is new, and desk practice at the entry points will only become clear once it is running.
Our advice is to buy the policy in each traveller's own name through NIC's official portal, as you would the e-visa. If you share a copy of the certificate, Sail can check that the names and dates match the passport and the itinerary.
Planning Kenya and Tanzania together, or a safari with Zanzibar at either end? Send us the route and each traveller's nationality and country of residence, and we will set out which policy current guidance points to for each of them. Travel advisors can send the same details for a client file.
Questions travellers ask
Useful answers, before you decide.
Is travel insurance mandatory for Tanzania?
Yes, for most foreign visitors to the mainland from 1 October 2026, the date in the Tanzania High Commission's guidance; the Regulations set no date. Zanzibar has required its own ZIC policy since 1 October 2024.
How much is Tanzania's mandatory travel insurance, and is there a child rate?
The Tanzanian shilling equivalent of US$44 per traveller, as one flat premium. No child rate, age band or infant exemption appears in the Regulations or in NIC's guidance.
How do I buy NIC inbound travel insurance?
Online at inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz, NIC's official portal, by card, with each traveller's passport details, travel dates and purpose of visit. NIC issues a digital or printed certificate to present on arrival.
Do I need both the Tanzania and the Zanzibar insurance?
According to the Tanzania High Commission's guidance, no: the first port of entry decides, NIC if the mainland comes first and ZIC if Zanzibar does. The Regulations do not mention Zanzibar.
Are EAC and SADC citizens exempt?
The High Commission says citizens are. The Regulations and NIC's FAQ exclude residents of EAC and SADC partner states instead, without defining resident. If that difference decides your case, ask NIC in writing or buy the certificate.
Does my own travel insurance replace it?
No. The High Commission says the government policy is required whatever insurance you hold, and it does not replace your own comprehensive cover for cancellation, medical care, evacuation and activities.
Is the US$44 policy enough for a safari or Kilimanjaro?
Do not treat it as enough. Its required benefits are emergency medical treatment, evacuation, repatriation and loss of luggage, with limits unpublished. Do not assume it covers cancellation, ballooning, walking safaris or rescue from altitude.
How long does it last if I leave Tanzania and come back?
Up to 92 days from your first arrival in mainland Tanzania, re-entries included; the clock does not restart. Beyond 92 days you need a new policy, which NIC calls an extension, arranged before expiry.
Can I buy it on arrival, and what happens if I arrive without it?
The Regulations allow purchase at the entry point and NIC lists cash on arrival, but the High Commission says to assume pre-purchase for now. Under regulation 4(4), a foreigner without a valid policy is to be denied entry.
Signature Journeys for this answer
The insurance is one line. These are the routes around it.
Each route below is priced complete, and the insurance requirement is confirmed for each traveller's nationality and country of residence at booking.
Safari first, Zanzibar last: what does the whole journey cost?
Safari to Spice
From US$9,430 per person, low season
Distinguished Camps and Lodges, city nights aside: Siringit Tarangire, Lions Paw Ngorongoro, Serengeti Sametu, Breezes Beach Club & Spa
Read the journey
Kenya into Tanzania: what does the Mara and Serengeti route cost?
One Ecosystem, Two Expressions
From US$12,935 per person, low season
Distinguished Camps and Lodges, city nights aside: Kicheche Mara North Camp, Lemala Mara, Lions Paw Ngorongoro, Siringit Tarangire
Read the journey
Tanzania only: the northern circuit, slowed down?
The Classic, Unhurried
From US$10,410 per person, low season
Distinguished Camps and Lodges, city nights aside: Siringit Tarangire, Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp, Dunia Camp (Asilia), Lemala Mara
Read the journey2027 from prices on the Distinguished Camps and Lodges expression, two adults sharing, per person, low season, confirmed at quotation. The high-season figure is on each journey page.
Discuss a Tanzania journey for your dates