Lake Assale, a salt lake in the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

Who needs a visa for Ethiopia?

Sub-Saharan Africa · Addis Ababa

Photo: Thomas Fuhrmann / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Of 198 nationalities, 2 enter Ethiopia with no paperwork at all. The rest: 117 can get a visa at the border and 79 must be approved before they travel.

Government fee
$62
Stay permitted
Single entry, for up to 30 or 90 days, counted from the entry date you give
Apply on the official Ethiopia government site

This is the government's own portal. We are not paid to send you there.

Checked 18 October 2026 — read the fees and rules on evisa.gov.et

What Ethiopia asks for

  • Recent passport-size photo
  • Passport valid for at least six months from the date you intend to enter Ethiopia

Worth knowing

  • Ethiopia's immigration service warns of fraudulent sites that copy the look of the official portal. Apply only at evisa.gov.et.

Photo requirements

We have not yet read the photo rules for Ethiopia on an official page, so we print no sizes. Photo rules we have checked, and official links for the rest

Resize a photo in your browser. It is never uploaded.

How long your passport must be valid for Ethiopia: see passport validity by country.

What do you need?

Who needs what

Visa free 2

Nothing to apply for and nothing to pay before you travel.

eVisa (electronic visa) 78

A real visa application, made online instead of at an embassy. It is assessed, it takes days rather than minutes, and it can be refused.

Visa on arrival 117

Issued at the border rather than beforehand. Bring the fee in cash in the currency the border post accepts. It is a permission, not a guarantee.

Visa required 1

You must apply and be approved before you travel. Airlines will refuse to board you without it.

About Ethiopia

Region
Eastern Africa
Capital
Addis Ababa
Population
135,472,051 2025 · 10th of 197
Size
1,104,300 km² 26th largest of 199
Density
123 per km²
Language
Amharic
Currency
Ethiopian birr ETB
Borders
Djibouti Eritrea Kenya Somalia South Sudan Sudan

Capital, area, languages and currency from the open country dataset, pulled 21 September 2026. Population from the World Bank, series updated 13 July 2026. Density is calculated from the two figures above.