Namibia: visa and entry rules

Namibia's borders: every crossing point

Namibia's land border crossings, by the neighbours it shares a border with:

With South Africa: Noordoewer — Vioolsdrif in the south, the main crossing; Ariamsvlei — Nakop on the eastern route.

With Botswana: Buitepos — Mamuno on the Windhoek - Gaborone highway; Ngoma in the Caprivi Strip.

With Zambia: Watopa — Sesheke in the Caprivi Strip, over the bridge across the Zambezi.

With Angola: Oshikango — Santa Clara in the north.

The Caprivi Strip is a narrow corridor in the north-east through which all the transit traffic to Victoria Falls passes: you can cross several borders in a single day.

Distances are enormous and filling stations are rare — crossings have to be planned with a margin for fuel and for the opening hours of the posts.

Driving to Namibia

Overland routes work with every neighbour, and the South African direction is the busiest.

A road levy is paid at the border for a foreign vehicle.

Traffic drives on the left.

A rental car is only taken across the border with a letter from the rental company — it is asked for at the checkpoints.

Find out the maximum temporary import period for Namibia before you set off. It has changed, and relying on old data is risky.

Gravel roads are the main surface away from the main highways, and a puncture here is an ordinary event.

Travelling to Namibia with a pet

An import permit is required, obtained in advance from the veterinary service.

A rabies vaccination must be valid on the date of entry.

An international veterinary certificate is required.

Confirm vaccination timings, the microchip and quarantine on import into Namibia before you buy tickets. It is not the border that turns you back but the carrier — right at the check-in desk.

Overstaying your visa in Namibia

A fine is charged for exceeding your permitted stay and is paid on departure.

The exact sum will be named by the officer on the way out. Rates in Namibia have changed more than once and figures from reference guides cannot be relied on — take plenty of cash to the border.

Go by your own stamp rather than counting on 90 days by default.

For a serious overstay — deportation and an entry ban.