Travel Advice for Namibia

Visa and other entry and exit conditions (such as currency, customs and quarantine regulations) change regularly. Contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate of Namibia for the most up to date information.

Travellers should ensure the correct visa and entry period is stamped in their passport for a visit to or transit through Namibia. Issuing visas is the prerogative of the authorities of the country visited. We recommend you check your visa before leaving the immigration counter. Failure to comply with immigration requirements can result in detention and or fines.

If you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is endemic, you will be required to present a valid yellow fever certificate to be allowed entry into Namibia.

Make sure your passport has at least six months' validity from your planned date of return to Australia. You should carry copies of a recent passport photo with you in case you need a replacement passport while overseas.

Terrorism

Civil unrest/Political tension

Crime

Money and valuables

Tourists are frequently involved in single-vehicle accidents because of excessive speed and lack of familiarity with local road conditions. Particular care should be taken on Namibia's gravel roads. Other road hazards include poor local driving practices, lack of street lighting, inadequately maintained vehicles, and wild animals or livestock straying onto roads.

While roads between main urban centres tend to be in good condition, roads in rural areas are dirt or gravel. When travelling in desert areas ensure you travel with sufficient supplies of fuel, water and emergency provisions and be aware of local conditions. For further advice, see our bulletin on Overseas Road Safety .

In the Kavango and Caprivi regions of north-eastern Namibia, particularly in areas bordering Angola, you should stay on well travelled routes. Unexploded landmines and munitions remain in these regions. Travel via the Trans Caprivi Highway between Rundu and Katima Mulilo should be undertaken during daylight hours only due to risk of banditry.

Airline safety

When you are in Namibia, be aware that local laws and penalties, including ones that appear harsh by Australian standards, do apply to you. If you are arrested or jailed, the Australian Government will do what it can to help you but we can't get you out of trouble or out of jail.

Information on what Australian consular officers can and cannot do to help Australians in trouble overseas is available from the Consular Services Charter .

Penalties for drug offences are severe and include lengthy prison sentences.

Homosexual activity is illegal in Namibia.

Foreigners have been detained for photographing government and/or military facilities.

There are severe penalties for people convicted of illegal dealings in diamonds and other precious stones. These should only be purchased from licensed shops.

Some Australian criminal laws, such as those relating to money laundering, bribery of foreign public officials, terrorism, child pornography, and child sex tourism, apply to Australians overseas. Australians who commit these offences while overseas may be prosecuted in Australia.

Australian authorities are committed to combating sexual exploitation of children by Australians overseas. Australians may be prosecuted at home under Australian child sex tourism and child pornography laws. These laws provide severe penalties for up to 25 years imprisonment for Australians who engage in child sexual exploitation while outside of Australia.

Information for dual nationals

We strongly recommend that you take out comprehensive travel insurance that will cover any overseas medical costs, including medical evacuation, before you depart. Confirm that your insurance covers you for the whole time you'll be away and check what circumstances and activities are not included in your policy. Remember, regardless of how healthy and fit you are, if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. The Australian Government will not pay for a traveller's medical expenses overseas or medical evacuation costs.

Your doctor or travel clinic is the best source of information about preventive measures, immunisations (including booster doses of childhood vaccinations) and disease outbreaks overseas. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides information for travellers and our 'Travelling Well' brochure also provides useful tips for travelling with medicines and staying healthy while overseas.

Outside the capital, Windhoek, the standard of medical facilities is often limited. Doctors and hospitals generally require cash payment, regardless of whether the patient has travel insurance. In the event of a serious illness or accident, medical evacuation to South Africa, which can cost as much as $A23,000, may be necessary.

The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Namibia is very high. You should exercise appropriate precautions if engaging in activities that expose you to risk of infection.

Malaria is prevalent in the northern regions of Namibia. Other insect-borne diseases (including filariasis, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness) also occur. We encourage you to take prophylaxis against malaria when travelling in the northern regions. You should take precautions to avoid being bitten by insects, including using an insect repellent at all times, wearing long, loose-fitting, light coloured clothing and ensuring your accommodation is mosquito proof.

Water-borne, food-borne, parasitic and other infectious diseases (including cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, meningitis, tuberculosis, polio and rabies) are prevalent with more serious outbreaks occurring from time to time. We encourage you to consider having vaccinations before travelling. We advise you to boil all drinking water or drink bottled water, avoid ice cubes and raw and undercooked food. Do not swim in fresh water to avoid exposure to certain water-borne diseases such as bilharzia (schistosomiasis). Seek medical advice if you have a fever or are suffering from diarrhoea.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has confirmed cases of avian influenza in birds in a number of countries throughout the world. For a list of these countries, visit the OIE website . For more information see our travel bulletin on avian influenza .

Australia has a Consulate in Windhoek, headed by an Honorary Consul, which provides limited consular assistance:

Wildlife

For parents