Malawi Visa and Entry Requirements
- Country Malawi
- Guide Visa and Entry
- Reviewed 19 August 2026
- Length 2 min read
Credit Samymag, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last reviewed 19 August 2026
Malawi is one of the countries where a visa is not a formality you can leave to the airline to explain. Every visitor needs one. You can buy it when you land, or you can apply online first, and the difference between those two routes is mostly about how much cash you are carrying and how long you are prepared to stand in a queue.
Buy on arrival, or apply online first
Single and multiple entry visas are issued on arrival, and the fee is payable in United States dollars in cash. A single entry visa costs fifty dollars, a six month multiple entry visa one hundred and fifty, and a one year multiple entry visa two hundred and fifty. Bring clean notes and bring the exact amount if you can.
The alternative is the electronic visa, applied for in advance on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services website. It is the same document and it removes the cash problem, which matters more than it sounds: a card machine at an airport counter is not something to plan around anywhere, and Malawi is no exception.
Before you fly
The health check form can be filled in ahead of time or scanned from a QR code when you land. Doing it in advance is faster.
- A passport valid for at least six months after the day you arrive.
- A visa, either applied for online in advance or paid for on arrival in US dollars cash.
- US dollars in cash for the visa fee if you have not applied online.
- A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country with a transmission risk.
- Proof of polio vaccination, which is required in some circumstances.
- The Traveller Health Check form, which the Ministry of Health and Sanitation asks arriving passengers to complete.
Customs, and what not to carry
Malawi has strict rules on what may be brought in and taken out, and anything that might be prohibited or dutiable has to be declared. The Malawi Revenue Authority is the body that sets and enforces them, and it is also the office the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office tells British travelers to contact if they are unsure how the entry rules apply to them.
Two prohibitions are worth knowing before you shop rather than after. It is illegal to buy uncut precious gemstones. It is illegal to buy, sell or carry the parts of protected wild animals, ivory included, without a license, and being caught means prosecution rather than confiscation.