Seychelles Visa and Entry Requirements
- Country Seychelles
- Guide Visa and Entry
- Reviewed 20 August 2026
- Length 2 min read
Credit flowcomm, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last reviewed 20 August 2026
Seychelles asks for no visa from most visitors and the passport rule is the most relaxed of any country in this series. What it does ask for is a travel authorization obtained before you fly, and that application wants more from you than a visa usually does.
The passport rule, which is unusually generous
Your passport must be valid for the duration of your stay. That is it. There is no six month rule, which is what Ethiopia, Nigeria and most of the continent require, and it is worth knowing if your passport is closer to expiry than you would like.
You will still be refused entry without a valid travel document, or with one that has been reported lost or stolen.
The travel authorization
You do not need a visa to visit Seychelles, but you must obtain a travel authorization before you travel. It is applied for and paid for online, and you can apply up to thirty days before you arrive. In an emergency there is an express application for an extra fee.
Treat it as a hard requirement rather than a formality. An airline is unlikely to board you without one.
What the application asks you to show
The accommodation requirement is the one that catches independent travelers out. If your plan was to arrive and find somewhere, that plan has to change: you need a confirmed booking before you can complete the application.
- A valid return or onward ticket.
- Proof of confirmed accommodation.
- Sufficient funds for the duration of your stay.
- A declaration if you are bringing cash worth 50,000 Seychellois rupees or more, which is made at the application stage rather than at the border.
At the border, and vaccination
When you arrive you may be asked to show proof that you hold travel insurance and are covered for any potential health costs. That is not an idle request here, because as a tourist you pay for medical treatment in Seychelles.
You must hold a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you are arriving from a country listed as a transmission risk. It is not required of everyone.
There are strict rules about what may be brought into or taken out of the country, and anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty has to be declared.