What you need to enter Malawi with a Saudi passport
Saudi citizens need a visa for Malawi, but they can get it on arrival at the border.
- Visa-on-arrival fee
- 50 USD
- Minimum passport validity
- 6 months
Why is this passport validity required? →
Last verified: 3 October 2026
Verified practical details
You can get your visa on arrival in Malawi, but it's worth preparing the paperwork ahead of time:
Authorisation system
Visa on arrival or e-Visa
The visa is obtained at Malawi's airports against cash payment in US dollars, or online on the official portal, where card payment sometimes fails. The tourist stay permit is 30 days and can be extended at the Immigration Office. At boarding or at the border you may be asked for an onward ticket dated before those 30 days end.
Apply on the official site →Visa, e-Visa, or electronic authorisation? What's the difference →
Fee
50 USD
Single-entry visa. According to the UK Government, a multiple-entry visa costs 150 dollars for six months and 250 dollars for one year.
Required documents
- Passport valid for at least six months from entry, with three blank pages.
- A visa on arrival or an e-Visa.
- An onward ticket out of Malawi dated before the authorised stay ends.
- A work permit obtained in advance for anyone volunteering with an NGO.
Transit rules
Volunteering without a work permit is an offence and can end in detention and expulsion. Immigration road checks are common, so carry a photo or copy of the passport page with the entry stamp. Photographing official buildings such as the State House, ministries or prisons is banned, and photographing the police is advised against. Traffic drives on the left, and same-sex relations are illegal.
More Malawi rules
They don't depend on your passport, so they are on the Malawi page:
Official portal: https://www.immigration.gov.mw/. Destination data verified on 3 October 2026. Sources: exteriores.gob.es (travel advice of Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Malawi, updated 9 June 2026: 50-dollar visa on arrival or online, 30 days, onward ticket, volunteering, currency, photography, security); gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/malawi (UK Government: multiple-entry visas, yellow fever); immigration.gov.mw and evisa.gov.mw (Malawi Department of Immigration); data.unesco.org (World Heritage List). All checked on 3 October 2026.
Travel insurance for Malawi
It isn't listed as mandatory for this entry, but without insurance, medical care during the trip can get expensive.
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Things to see and do in Malawi
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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This pair in context
In the other direction, citizens of Malawi need an electronic visa to enter Saudi Arabia. See the Malawi → Saudi Arabia page.
Of the 18 passports from Western Asia that VisaRadar tracks, for travel to Malawi 2 enter visa-free and 16 need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival. Same result as Saudi Arabia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, Iraq and Jordan.
With a passport from Saudi Arabia, in the rest of Eastern Africa you can enter Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and Zambia visa-free; you need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival for Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe; you need a visa for Eritrea.
A passport from Saudi Arabia ranks 99 of 199 in the VisaRadar passport ranking and reaches 86 of 198 destinations without applying for a visa in advance.
Counts from the same requirements matrix behind this page's verdict, using the UN M49 subregions.
Frequently asked questions
Do Saudi citizens need a visa for Malawi?
Yes, but you can obtain it directly upon arrival at Malawi's entry point.
What minimum passport validity is required?
Passport valid for at least six months from entry, with three blank pages.
What currency is used in Malawi?
Malawian Kwacha (MWK).
What do Saudi passport holders need for the countries near Malawi?
With a passport from Saudi Arabia, in the rest of Eastern Africa you can enter Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and Zambia visa-free; you need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival for Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe; you need a visa for Eritrea.
Related pages
See Malawi requirements for other passports →
See entry requirements to Saudi Arabia for other passports →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.