UK resumes issuance of visas in Dar es Salaam

Tanzanians no longer required to travel to Kenya for UK visa

Tanzanians wishing to travel to the UK can now submit visa application documents in Dar es Salaam without having to travel to Kenyan capital Nairobi or Pretoria in South Africa, as was the case for the last 11 months.

The country's deputy foreign affairs minister Mahadhi Juma Maalim said that Tanzanians applying for UK visas can now submit applications at an agency at Viva Towers on Ali Hassan Mwinyi road in Dar es Salaam. The time-frame for Tanzanians applying for UK visa applications is now 18 days before travelling.

The turnaround follows the decision by the Dar es Salaam-based British High Commission to stop offering UK visas from Tanzania in March 2014, as part of a cost-reducing overhaul of visa-issuing procedures worldwide.

The move was unpopular with Tanzanians who cited the inconvenience of travelling to Kenya and South Africa to obtain a UK visa, at least six weeks in advance of travelling to Britain.