Malawi’s proposal to introduce a reciprocal visa policy has been described by industry stakeholders as a knee-jerk reaction to the country’s budgetary and foreign exchange shortages and a move that will likely be detrimental to tourism.
The proposal was first mentioned by the country’s Finance Minister Joseph Mwanmvekha on October 22 and again in a budget statement on November 21.
“Government will implement a reciprocity visa regime, ensuring that Malawi’s visa policies reflect fair, balanced and mutually respectful treatment between Malawi and other nations. Under this policy direction, government will align visa requirements for foreign nationals with the treatment Malawian citizens receive abroad,” Mwanmvekha said.
If approved by Parliament, the move will mark a significant shift in policy direction following the country’s addition of 79 new countries to its visa waiver list in 2024. The country’s private-sector tourism leaders widely view the reciprocal policy as a backward step.
“Government has looked at the bank balance and realised there are critical shortages of funds. We think it’s very much a knee-jerk reaction to try and get more funding in, particularly more foreign exchange,” said Chris Badger, Founder and MD of Central African Wilderness Safaris, which operates lodges in the Liwonde and Nyika national parks and Lilongwe.
Malawi’s 2025 GDP growth has been revised downward from 2.8% to 2.7%, due to “shortages of foreign exchange and fuel”, according to Mwanmvekha. He said government has directed all accommodation expenses by foreign tourists to be paid in foreign currency.
“In order to facilitate this, all tourist operators should immediately apply for foreign exchange dealing licenses from the Reserve Bank of Malawi.”
Sending the wrong message
Badger said, while it is unlikely that a visa fee will deter tourists, the move sends the wrong message.
“It’s not so much the case that your average tourist can’t pay an extra US$80 or whatever they want to charge. But it doesn’t say that we’re open for business. It’s a very competitive market out there, especially with many of our neighbouring countries relaxing their visa requirements,” said Badger, pointing out that Malawi already receives fewer tourists than destinations such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Botswana.
The country welcomed around 1.1 million international tourists in 2024.
“We definitely had nice bookings when we dropped the visas last year. That’s due not only to the affordability but also the convenience of not needing to apply,” Badger pointed out.
He said the Malawi Tourism Council – the official umbrella body representing private-sector role players – relayed their concerns to the Ministry of Tourism.
“We’ve said to them that we think it’s a bad idea so we’re hoping that there will be a debate in Parliament and that they’ll back down from it.”
Stanley Kabango, GM of Umodzi Parks and Resorts, called for more comprehensive data to support any decisions on the policy’s implementation.
“There’s an argument that Malawi’s market is highly sensitive to costs. This is likely true but, without data on price elasticity or historical impacts of fees, it’s hard to quantify the effect. There is a suggestion that a 3-5% drop in arrivals could cost US$5 million to US$10 million in foreign exchange. But that’s an estimate without a clear methodology or baseline visitor numbers. Policymakers will want actual figures to weigh trade-offs.”
Need for a functional e-visa
If the policy is implemented, major improvements to Malawi’s e-visa and immigration systems will be necessary, emphasised Kabango and Badger.
“Calls for seamless, fully digital, predictable visas are ideal but Malawi Immigration faces capacity, connectivity and staffing constraints. Policies must balance ambition with operational feasibility,” said Kabango.
Badger said, before last year’s visa waivers, the online visa platform was “terribly dysfunctional”.
He explained: “Particularly for the US, the system was just rejecting applications. Several thousands of dollars’ worth of bookings from US consultants simply could not be fulfilled.”
