APPLICATION FOR RESIDENCE PERMIT IN TANZANIA
The issuance of a Residence Permit in Tanzania is governed by the Immigration Act, Cap. 54 (as revised) and its Regulations of 1997 as amended from time to time. A Residence Permit is a legal document that permits a foreigner to live in Tanzania.
Who is required to apply for a work permit in Tanzania?
All foreigners intending to reside in the United Republic of Tanzania for business, work, investment, or any other acceptable purpose for more than 90 days, are required to hold a valid residence permit. In Mainland Tanzania residence permit is issued by the Immigration Department, and the power to issue a residence permit is vested to the Commissioner General of Immigration Service. The Application for residence permits should be submitted while the applicant is outside the country, and the applicant who is not satisfied by the Commissioner’s decisions may appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs while he/she is outside the country
Categories of Residence Permits in Tanzania
- Residence Permit Class ‘A’ for Investors (self-employed foreigners)
- Residence Permit Class ‘B’ for Employees (expatriates working in company/private institutions)
- Residence Permit Class ‘C’ for other classes of foreigners such as researchers, retired persons, missionaries, volunteers, etc.
Validity of Residence Permit
The Maximum validity of any class of Residence Permit will not exceed two years, and it may be renewable after the previous two years. However, the validity of the Residence Permit may depend on:
- Employment contract,
- Validity of license issued by relevant professional Boards
- Validity of Work Permits
- For other Legal compliances, a permit may be canceled before its expiration period in case the permit holder defaults.
General Requirements for Residence Permit Class ‘A’
This class is granted to any foreign national who intends to reside in Tanzania and engage in Trade, Business, Profession, Agriculture, Animal husbandry, prospecting of Minerals, or Manufacturing. The applicant must comply with the following general requirements:
- Duly filled online application
- Submit Application letter
- Work Permit issued by Labour Commissioner (Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar)
- A copy of the National Passport (with a Validity of not less than six months)
- Passport size photograph,
- One full-size photograph
- Registration Certificates from relevant Authorities (In case the Business requires Authorization from specific Regulatory)
- Certificate of Incentive (In case the business project has been registered with Tanzania Investment Centre – TIC or Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority – ZIPA and EPZA)
- Board Resolution
- Memorandum and Articles of Association or Extract showing Company shareholders, share distribution, and nominal capital of the change of name
- Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Compliance or Business Name Registration or Certificate of change of name
- Valid Business License
- Certificate of Registration of Taxpayers (TIN)
- Valid tax clearance certificate
- Tax payment slips
- Lease agreement or certificate of Occupancy
- List which shows company assets
- Physical Verification Visit Report (RVV) –where necessary
- Company current Bank statement.
General Requirements for Residence Permit Class ‘B’
This class is granted to any foreigner who possesses qualifications or skills, preferably, that are not readily available in the local labor market. This covers foreigners with rare professions having specific employers and professionals working in Government and Private strategic projects. Application must be made before the entry of the prospective employee into Tanzania. The applicant must comply with the following general requirements:
- Duly filled online application
- Submit Application letter
- Work Permit issued by Labour Commissioner (Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar)
- A copy of the National Passport (with a Validity of not less than six months)
- Cover letter from the employer
- Passport size photograph,
- One full-size photograph
- Curriculum Vitae of the Employee
- Certified copies of the Academic Certificates
- Official translation of documents/certificates in case they are written in languages other than English or Swahili
- Job description of the employee/expatriate
- Employment contract
- Previous original Class ‘B’ permit (in case of renewal or replacement)
- Organizational structure of the company
- Registration of certificates from professional boards (where necessary)
- Business License
- Memorandum and Articles of Association or Extract showing Company shareholders, share distribution, and nominal capital of the company.
- Letter of no objection (if the application has shifted from another company)
- Tax Clearance
- Tax Payers’ Identification Number (TIN) Certificate.
General Requirements for Residence Permit Class ‘C’
This class is granted to any foreigners who are not eligible to obtain either Class ‘A’ or Class ‘B’ permits. These include researchers, retired persons, missionaries, former employees winding up affairs, individuals attending medical treatment, volunteers, interns, parties, and witnesses in courts of law and tribunals, etc. An application must be made before the entry of the prospective employee into Tanzania except for Retired persons and winding up affairs. The applicant must comply with the following general requirements:
- Duly filled online application
- Covering letter from institution, school, or mission
- Work Permit issued by Labour Commissioner (Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar)
- A copy of the National Passport (with a Validity of not less than six months)
- Passport size photograph,
- One full-size photograph
- Registration Certificates from relevant authorities (where required)
- Curriculum Vitae of the Employee
- Job description
- Certified copies of the Academic Certificates
- Official translation of documents/certificates in case they are written in languages other than English or Swahili
- Certificate of registration of institution, school, or mission,
- Pages of the Constitution of an organization showing signatories, objectives, and members of the organization
- Previous original Class ‘C’ permit (in case of renewal or replacement)
- Letter of no objection for holders of resident permits shifting to new Institution.
PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING RESIDENCE PERMIT ONLINE
Residence Permits are generally to be sought by the company or employer while the prospective resident is still outside the country except in renewal cases. An employer who applies for a first grant Residence Permit while the prospective resident is within the country may be subjected to pay for Special Pass fee on top of the Residence Permit fee.
The procedure for applying for a Residence Permit Online (e-Residence Permit) is as follows:
- Visit the direct link: https://eservices.immigration.go.tz/online/permit or visit our web site www.immigration.go.tz
- Create an account.
- Filling out the form and attachments
- Apply;
- Once an application has been approved for payment, an applicant will be notified, and he/she will be required to pay the prescribed fee within sixty (60) days. After the expiry of 60 days, if no payment has been made the application will be deleted automatically;
- After payment, the applicant will receive a Residence Permit Enrolment Notification, which requires the applicant to report to the nearest Immigration Office for fingerprints and photo capture (enrollment process);
- Once the enrolment process is done the applicant will wait for his/ her Residence Permit processing and issuance within a week
- The Permit may be collected at the Regional Immigration Office where the company is located or at the Immigration Headquarters, Immigration Head Office Zanzibar, TIC, EPZA or ZIPA as the case may be.
NB: Where it happens the application has insufficient document/information the applicant will be notified ONLINE (through the Residence Permit System) to rectify the relevant query so that the application can proceed.