Travelers wishing to apply for a visa for Namibia are currently facing a prolonged outage of the official e-services portal operated by Namibia’s Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security (MHAISS).
MHAISS had announced a temporary service interruption on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time, in order to carry out scheduled maintenance. The downtime was therefore expected to last only two hours.
Since that announcement, however, the eservices.mhaiss.gov.na portal has unfortunately remained inaccessible, preventing travelers from completing or submitting their visa applications before departure. Before the maintenance began, the portal displayed a notice advising users to finalize any pending applications before the service was taken offline.
A central portal for online visa applications
The portal is one of Namibia’s main access points for online immigration services. It allows users to apply for a tourist visa, an online visa on arrival, a MICE visa for meetings, conferences and events, as well as a short-term employment permit. Namibian authorities describe the platform as a service that enables applicants to submit an application online, make a secure payment and track the progress of their file.
The disruption comes at a sensitive time for travelers, as Namibia tightened its entry requirements on April 1, 2025, for nationals of countries that do not have a reciprocal visa-exemption agreement with Namibia.
The ministry reminds affected travelers that they must ensure they hold the required visa before traveling. Applications can be submitted online before arrival in Namibia, in order to reduce time spent at immigration counters, or directly upon arrival when that option is available for the traveler’s nationality and the relevant point of entry.
For travelers subject to a visa requirement, the portal outage may complicate travel preparations. Those wishing to obtain an e-Visa before departure may not be able to create an account, access their application, make a payment or download their authorization while the service is offline.
The situation may also affect travelers who had already started an application and still needed to submit documents, correct information or retrieve their e-Visa before boarding. The uncertainty is all the greater because the ministry’s notice referred to a short, scheduled maintenance period, without announcing any extension of the outage.
Visa on arrival in Namibia remains possible in some cases
The portal outage does not necessarily mean that all affected travelers are unable to enter Namibia.
Namibian authorities also provide a visa-on-arrival procedure for certain travelers and at certain points of entry. MHAISS states that the e-Visa and in-person visa on arrival are accepted at several ports of entry, including Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek, Walvis Bay Airport and several land border crossings.
This option, however, is not available everywhere. At some points of entry, only the e-Visa is accepted, with no possibility of applying for a visa on arrival in person. Travelers should therefore carefully check their nationality, itinerary and point of entry before departure, especially if they plan to arrive through a regional airport, a secondary land border crossing or any entry point where visa on arrival is not offered.
What should travelers do while waiting for the portal to be restored?
Travelers due to visit Namibia soon should regularly check the status of the official portal and keep screenshots in the event of persistent technical difficulties. They are also advised to contact their airline, the competent Namibian embassy or consulate, or Namibian immigration services to confirm the options available according to their nationality, visa type and planned point of entry.
Travelers eligible for visa on arrival should also anticipate potentially longer processing times at immigration controls if more passengers arrive without a previously issued e-Visa. Travel documents, proof of accommodation, return or onward ticket, payment methods and any supporting documents should be prepared before departure.
