Namibia’s newly introduced Visa on Arrival (VoA) system, launched in April, has drawn criticism from the tourism sector due to delays, inconsistent implementation, and high costs that undermine its effectiveness and competitiveness. The government revoked visa exemptions for 31 countries—including Germany, the UK, the US, and the Netherlands—requiring travelers from these nations to apply for an “entry permit” and pay a processing fee of 1,600 Namibian dollars (approximately €78.59) for the electronic visa.
Ally Karaerua, chairman of the Namibia Federation of Tourism Associations (FENATA), acknowledged some improvement in processing times but warned that the high fees continue to hurt Namibia’s competitiveness. He noted that Namibia’s single-entry visa fee remains one of the highest in southern Africa, compared to Botswana’s 300 pula (around €19.50), Zimbabwe’s $30, and South Africa’s visa-free entry for many nationalities.
Nrupesh Soni, founder of the Namibia Tourism Task Force (NTTF), said that while the revised VoA system enjoys broad support, initial implementation issues persist—particularly at busy border points—causing delays, inconsistent procedures, and difficulties with electronic visa recognition. Soni stressed the need for further backend investment to align on-site experiences with digital promises and improve the ease of doing business.
Both FENATA and NTTF called for a detailed impact assessment covering processing times, traveler satisfaction, feedback from border staff and operators, and queue lengths to enable proactive system improvements.
When asked about extending the identity verification process to other nationalities, Karaerua expressed a preference for scrapping the system altogether. However, if it continues, he recommended prioritizing major source markets such as India and China.
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