Mozambique launches eVisa for 183 countries: Russians can get an eTA for up to 30 days

On 11 February 2026, Mozambique officially launched a digital e-visa system. Travellers from 183 countries can now apply for a visa online — before departure, with no consulate visits or paper forms.

For anyone who'd long been eyeing the Indian Ocean's coral reefs or planning a safari in Gorongosa National Park, applying just got a lot simpler. Previously, a Mozambique visa often required an embassy visit; now the entire process fits into four steps on a single portal.

How Mozambique's new e-Visa works

The applicant fills out a form on Mozambique's e-visa portal, uploads documents, pays the fee, and receives the approved e-Visa by email before boarding the flight. The platform extracts data from a passport scan itself, offers a built-in photo editor to adjust the picture to requirements, and accepts online payment. The service is optimised for phone, tablet, and desktop; support is available around the clock in several languages.

The technical side is handled by VFS Global — an operator familiar to many from visa centres in various countries. The final decision on each application, however, remains with the Mozambican government.

The single portal covers several categories at once: tourist and business visas, crew transit, sports and cultural trips, humanitarian missions, and oil and gas sector visas. Validity depends on the category — from short trips to visas valid for up to two years. In other words, both a tourist on a one-week trip and an engineer on a long-term contract use the same system.

Who enters visa-free, with an eTA, or through a consulate

Some countries are fully exempt from visa requirements for certain passport types. The visa-free list includes, among others, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Mauritius, Seychelles, and other Southern and East African countries. Kenya is included for ordinary passport holders, while Brazil and Portugal are covered only for diplomatic and official passports.

Citizens of 29 countries have a separate simplified regime — an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) allowing a stay of up to 30 days. This list includes, among others, Russia, the UK, the US, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and most major EU countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries. In practice, this means Russian tourists on a short trip only need to apply for an eTA online, without a full visa procedure.

There are exceptions too: citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Nepal, and Somalia cannot use the electronic portal and still apply through an embassy.

For travellers, the e-Visa launch is a tangible step toward a modern digital application process: less physical passport logistics, faster responses, lower risk of form errors thanks to automatic data reading. That said, the specific document set and conditions depend on nationality, visa type, and purpose of travel, so it's worth carefully checking the requirements on the portal or discussing the details with a specialist before applying.