Uganda starts visa online payments

KAMPALA. In a bid to boost domestic tourism, payment for Uganda visas is now done online. The new innovation is also projected to attract more foreigners into the country.
According to Mr Jacob Siminyu, the immigration directorate spokesperson, the service that has been tested for two days is promising.
“Seventy seven people have so far used the service to pay for their visas in the last two days since we started using it. Most of the clients are from United States of America where we have only two centres for visa application and payment,” he said.
“Other payments are from United Kingdom, India, Germany New Zealand, Canada, Oman, Spain and Brazil, Netherlands, Pakistan, Australia, Austria among others,” he added.
Mr Siminyu told Daily Monitor in a Monday interview that the service will become mandatory to payments for visas online after one week.

“This will ensure that none of our officers touches this money. It is paid to Orient Bank, our agent that later transmits it to the consolidated fund. Uganda recently introduced visa application online but payments were still being done in cash. With this application, many foreigners will be able to apply and pay online, which is more convenient,” he said.
During ‘tulambule campaign’ aimed at promoting local tourism recently, the State Minister for Tourism, Mr Godfrey Kiwanda, told journalists that Uganda annually gets about 1.5 million foreign tourists, which number is expected to grow to 4 million tourists by 2020.