No visa needed

Do citizens of Botswana need a visa for Zambia?

Citizens of Botswana don’t need a visa for Zambia and can stay up to 90 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Botswana: the passport opens 46 countries visa-free; Gaborone — Lusaka: ≈ 1,060 km, about 2 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 90 days

Can I travel to Zambia without a visa on a Botswana passport?

Yes, citizens of Botswana don’t need a visa for Zambia for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Zambia visa rules at a glance

With a Botswana passport you can visit 46 countries visa-free, 20 with a visa on arrival and 42 with an e-visa; 90 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Botswana passport ranks 108th of 199.
Botswana passport: visa-free access to 46 countries; Zambia passport: 38.
Citizens of Botswana and Zambia can travel together visa-free to 37 countries, for example: South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Benin.
A language both countries share: English.
Botswana and Zambia share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Zambia, in turn, don’t need a visa for Botswana. Botswana visa for citizens of Zambia

Travelling to Zambia: good to know

Gaborone — Lusaka: about 1,060 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 2 hours.
No time difference with your country’s capital.
Local currency: Zambian Kwacha.
Languages: English.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ ZMW 20.
Zambia is the 7th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Botswana.