Afghanistan introduces new e-visa in tourism drive

International

It comes as tourism to the nation continues to grow.

Close to 9,000 international tourists visited Afghanistan in 2024 according to the government, with more than 7,000 visiting in the first half of 2025.

The total for 2025 is thought to have surpassed the 2024 total and now the Afghan government has streamlined its visa process and introduced a new online system for the first time in its history.

The Taliban, who are the current Afghan government, are only recognised by one country as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. Due to this, only a limited number of embassies and consulates have remained open globally and were able to issue visas, since the Taliban have been in power.

The most reliable and logistically practical for travellers to Afghanistan were in Dubai and the Gulf states and travellers had to visit these consulates and embassies in person.

Due to the current conflict between Israel/the USA and Iran, this has become extremely difficult and it has forced Afghanistan to fast track the e-visa system.

The e-visa system is still in its infancy

The e-visa system is still in its infancy, but is operational if you enter the country through Kabul International Airport. It’s not yet set-up for land border crossings.

The process includes you needing to name a sponsor and you have to list an Afghan address for your stay, something your tour company, such as Untamed Borders, will be able to provide. If an e-visa is approved, you can stay in the country for 3 months.

It comes as the first mainstream guide book for the country in 20 years has recently been released. The new Bradt Guide for Afghanistan is available to buy now and was authored by the Founder of Untamed Borders, James Willcox.

James began organising trips to Afghanistan in 2008. Along with organising many hundreds of cultural group and private trips to the nation, James also launched the first ever international group ski trips to Afghanistan in 2011 and co-founded the Marathon of Afghanistan. The race ran for 6 years, and to date, is the country’s only ever mixed-gender sporting event.

James has led the way in other pioneering projects in Afghanistan too. These include organising trekking tours in the Wakhan Corridor, arranging logistics for the first kayaking trip to Afghanistan, the nation’s first snowboard film and is an associate producer of Champions of the Golden Valley – a multi-award winning film about the Afghan skiing community, which is available to watch on Olympics.com.

James says, “There are many hurdles for someone travelling to Afghanistan and previously this started with the visa process.

While visiting Afghanistan still throws up lots of challenges, the old laborious visa system is now not one of them and that is a welcome change.

With tourism to the country continuing to grow, the streamlining of the visa process is likely to encourage more people to consider a trip to Afghanistan.

We have seen this happen in other challenging countries, such as Somalia and Libya, after the introduction of e-visas in those nations.”

You can see a full list of the upcoming group trips to Afghanistan on the Untamed Borders website and can email – info@untamedborders.com – for further details about private trip services in the country and for e-visa related queries.