Namibian immigration forms offer various options for purpose of entry, and I would like to understand how they map to visa types.
Relevant options on the form are:
- [ ] Holiday/Tourist/Recreation
- [ ] Business/Conference/Professional
In the past years I have always ticked "Business/Conference/Professional". I hold a passport from a country with a visa exemption agreement with Namibia. Immigration officials have given me different entry stamps nearly every time:
- 2017: issued a work visa
- 2018: issued a visitor's entry permit, "conference"
- 2019: issued a visitor's entry permit, "tourism"
- 2020: issued a visitor's entry permit, "workshop"
- 2023: issued a visitor's entry permit, "holiday"
- 2024: issued a visitor's entry permit, "workshop"
It is very hard to find a single source of truth for Namibian immigration policy (see Where can I find accurate, up-to-date information about visa requirements for visitors to Namibia?), but Namibia's US embassy says:
All citizens of countries whom we have VISA Exemption Agreements are not required to obtain a visa and will be allowed to enter into Namibia and get Visitor´s Entry Permit (VEP) endorsement stamps at the Port of entry for the following reasons:
- Holiday/Vacation; Visiting friends or relatives;
- Attending workshops (Not as Facilitator);
- Attending meetings;
- Exploring of business opportunities;
- Medical treatment; and
- Any other purpose other than employment of any kind
I believe that "Business/Conference/Professional" activities, as long as they don't involve paid or volunteer work, qualify for visa-exempt entry. Attending a conference qualifies, but speaking at the conference does not.
Does this sound right?
And for holders of passports that are not visa-exempt, would I be right to conclude that a tourist/holiday visa would also cover attending (but not speaking at) a conference?
