Kariba Border Post | Customs and Immigration

Zim : very easy and quick, friendly staff. stamped our passports, gave back the TIP, and 1$ per car for the dam. 5 minutes, no hassle.

Zam. 2 hours. what a nightmare :-(
immigration : free visa for european, so stamped our passports with 30 days (had to explain our itinerary). we can extend to 90 days for free in any big city.
customs : wanted to see an Interpol police clearance to edit our TIP (we dont have CPD and it was the first time an officer ask for this!). so we stayed quiet and polite but straight, we dont need this paper. we felt the officer wanted a bribe to do the FREE TIP, we didnt give anything and we were waiting. finally, the officer did it after 2 hours with no money ;-)

finaly, we had to pay : (everything with receipts)
- 20$ the road tax (only dollars, no kwachas, only cash, no credit card).
- 150 kwachas the insurance outside the customs (necessary to edit the free TIP, only kwachas, no dollars, only cash, no credit card).
- 264 kwachas for carbon tax (only kwachas, no dollars, only cash, no credit card). it depends of the size of your car.

money exchangers at the border, 1$ for 22 kwachas but we exchanged the minimum just to pay the insurance, the carbon tax, the toll to go to Lusaka (20k for a 4x4 or 50k for a truck), the council fee at some kilometers (50k for everybody with receipt).

so be prepared and smile : this is Africa ;-)

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Entering Zimbabwe we paid 30 USD for the Visa (Austrian Passport) and 20 USD carbon tax and road tax for a 5.5t camper. After immigration and customs, we were sent to the tent behind the building for a police check. Everything easy, cash required.

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2.5 hours to cross border, busier but still an easy and good border crossing experience.
55 USD for GB visa. 30USD Road tax and carbon tax together. Comesa insurance accepted or 25 USD for 1 month if no comesa insurance.

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50 USD for german registered car and 30 USD for Visa on german passport when entering Zim

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NOTE: KAZA Visa not valid here. Only for entry in the Vic Falls area.

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To visit the dam only from ZIM: very easy and friendly
- register in a book
- show passport (we did not have to leave it)
- get Gate Pass
- if you drive, it costs USD 1 and the officer would like to see the Carnet/TIP … but we had it stowed in the car, so with a smile he accepted
- as we left the border point, we got stopped by two people who claimed they were customs officials and wanted to inspect the vehicle. As they were neither wearing a uniform and nor presented any ID card, we refused and said we dont show our vehicle to civilians … and drove on
- we left the vehicle in the parking right at the dam on the ZIM side and walked over as far as the parking on the ZAM side (there is construction work in progress on the dam road at this moment)

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Zimbabwe entry with German Passport and Tanzanian registered car:
Visa 30$ (did only accept cash) valid for 6 month. Granted 30 days and after that visa has to be extended free of charge up to 3 month.
Handed out a signed and stamped gate pass.
Customs: Before getting the TIP one needs a police clearance from a tent behind the building. Officer checked all papers, logbook and Temporary Export Permit from TZ and writes the details in a book. Signed the gate pass, free if charge
Than Customs: TIP is free of charge, officer checks the insurance (Comesa) and collects the road toll 10$ and the carbon tax 10$, payable in cash. TIP and carbon tax valid for 30 days, can be extended according to the Visa extension in every major city. Stamps gate pass
...and off you go - welcome to Zimbabwe

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Careful with hired vehicles. Customs directs you to an external agent for a commercial vehicle guarantee which is apparently required for getting a TIP. The agent gets some documents from his car and asks 100 USD for it. Eventually we paid 50 which still felt way too much but it was already dark and he was the only agent. Customs not helpful to determine true price for CVG. Otherwise quiet and friendly. Card payment possible (except cvg)

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