IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT
The department of Immigration is mandated to control movement of people into and out of the country. It is also charged with the facilitation and issuance of residence permits and citizenship acquisition.
1. VISA ISSUANCE
Some countries’ nationals require entry visa in order to visit Lesotho, without this permit travellers will not be allowed to enter the country. It is therefore important to check as a traveller whether your country falls under this category. The list is attached as follows.
LIST OF COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZENS REQUIRE/ DO NOT REQUIRE VISAS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
1. The ENTRY “YES” against a country’s name means its citizen always require a Visa to enter Lesotho.
2. The ENTRY “NO” against a country’s name means its citizens DO NOT require a Visa to enter Lesotho.
3. An Asterisk (*) against a country’s name means that its citizens only require a visa when coming to stay in Lesotho for more than 14 days.
COUNTRIES THAT NEED VISA TO VISIT LESOTHO
AFGHANISTAN YES YES
ALBANIA YES YES
ANDORRA YES YES
ANGOLA YES YES
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA NO NO
ARGENTINA YES YES
ARMNIA YES YES
AUSTRIA* NO YES
AUSTRALIA* NO YES
AZERBAIJAN YES YES
BAHAMAS NO NO
BAHRAIN YES YES
BANGLADESH YES YES
BARBADOS NO NO
BELARUS YES YES
BELGIUM* NO YES
BELIZE NO NO
BENIN YES YES
BERMUDA YES YES
BHUTAN YES YES
BOLIVIA YES YES
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA YES YES
BOTSWANA NO NO
BRAZIL YES YES
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS YES YES
BRUNIE NO NO
BULGARIA YES YES
BURKINA FASO YES YES
BURUNDI YES YES
CAMBODIA YES YES
CAMEROON YES YES
CANADA* NO YES
CAPE VERDE YES YES
CAYMAN ISLANDS YES YES
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC YES YES
CHAD YES YES
CHILE YES YES
CHINA (PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC) YES YES
COLOMBIA YES YES
COMOROS YES YES
CONGO (REPUBLIC) YES YES
CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC) YES YES
COSTA RICA YES YES
CÔTE D’IVOIRE (IVORY COAST) YES YES
CROATIA YES YES
CUBA YES YES
CYPRUS YES YES
CZECH REPUBLIC* NO YES
DENMARK* NO YES
DJIBOUTI YES YES
DOMINICA NO YES
DOMINICA REPUBLIC NO NO
ECUADOR YES YES
EGYPT YES YES
EL SALVADOR YES YES
EQUATORIAL GUINEA YES YES
ERITIREA YES YES
ESTONIA YES YES
ETHIOPIA YES YES
FALKLAND ISLANDS YES YES
FIJI NO ?
FINLAND* NO YES
FRANCE* NO YES
GABON YES YES
GAMBIA NO YES
GERMANY* NO YES
GEORGIA YES YES
GHANA NO NO
GREECE YES YES
GRENADA NO NO
GUATEMALA YES YES
GUINEA YES YES
GUINEA-BISSAU YES YES
GUYANA NO NO
HAITI YES YES
HONDURAS YES YES
HONG KONG NO NO
HUNGARY YES YES
ICELAND* NO YES
INDIA YES YES
INDONESIA YES YES
IRAN YES YES
IRAQ YES YES
IRELAND NO NO
ISRAEL NO NO
ITALY* NO NO
JAMAICA NO YES
JAPAN NO NO
JORDAN YES NO
KAZAKHSTAN YES YES
KENYA NO NO
KIRIBATI NO NO
KOREA (SOUTH) NO NO
KOREA (DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES REPUBLIC) NO NO
KUWAIT YES YES
KYRGYZSTAN YES YES
LAOS YES YES
LATVIA YES YES
LEBANON YES YES
LIBERIA YES YES
LIBYA YES YES
LIECHTENSTEIN YES YES
LITHUANIA YES YES
LUXEBOURG* NO YES
MACAO YES ?
MACEDONIA YES YES
MADAGASCAR NO NO
MALAWI NO NO
MALAYSIA NO NO
MALDIVES YES YES
MALI YES YES
MALTA YES YES
MARSHALL ISLANDS YES YES
MAURITANIA YES YES
MAURITIUS NO NO
MEXICO YES YES
MICRONESIA YES YES
MIDWAY ISLANDS YES YES
MOLDOVA YES YES
MONACO YES YES
MONGOLIA YES YES
MOTENEGRO YES YES
MONTSERRAT YES ?
MOROCCO YES YES
MOZAMBIQUE NO NO
MYANMAR (BURMA) YES YES
NAMIBIA NO NO
NAURU NO NO
NEPAL YES YES
NETHERLANDS* NO YES
NEW ZEALAND* (INCLUDING THE COOK ISLANDS NIUE, TOKELAU) NO YES
NICARAGUA YES YES
NIGER YES YES
NIGERIA YES YES
NORTH KOREA YES YES
NORTHEN MARIANA ISLANDS (FEDERATION STATES OF MICRONESIA, MARIANA ISLANDS, CAROLINE ISLANDS, PALAU ISLANDS) YES YES
NORWAY* NO YES
OMAN YES YES
PAKISTAN YES YES
PANAMA YES YES
PAPUA NEW GUINEA NO NO
PARAGUAY YES YES
PERU YES YES
PHILIPPINES YES YES
PITCAIRN YES YES
POLAND YES YES
PORTUGAL* NO YES
QATAR YES YES
ROMANIA YES YES
RUSSIA YES YES
RWANDA YES YES
SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NAVIS NO NO
SAINT HELANA AND DEPENCENCIES YES YES
SAINT LUCIA NO NO
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GREENADINES NO NO
SAMOA YES YES
SAN MARINO YES YES
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE YES YES
SAUDI ARABIA YES YES
SENEGAL YES YES
SERBIA YES YES
SEYCHELLES NO NO
SIERRA LEONE NO NO
SINGAPORE NO NO
SLOVAK REPUBLIC YES YES
SLOVENIA YES YES
SOLOMON ISLANDS YES YES
SOMALIA YES YES
SOUTH AFRICA NO NO
SPAIN * (INLCUDING SPANISH TERRITORIES IN NORTH AFRICA WITH CEUTA AND MELILLA) NO YES
SRI LANKA NO NO
SUDAN YES YES
SURINAME YES YES
SWAZILAND NO NO
SWEDEN* NO YES
SWITZERLAND* NO YES
SYRIA YES YES
TAIWAN YES YES
TAJIKISTAN YES YES
TANZANIA NO NO
THAILAND YES YES
TIMOR-LESTE (EAST TIMOR) YES YES
TOGO YES YES
TONGA NO NO
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO NO NO
TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS YES YES
TUNISIA YES YES
TURKEY YES YES
TURKMENISTAN YES YES
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS YES YES
TUVALU NO NO
UGANDA NO NO
UKRAINE YES YES
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES YES YES
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND (INCLUDING THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, THE ISLE OF MAN AND BERMUDA) NO YES
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (INCLUDING VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES, AMERICAN SAMOA GUAM, PUERTO RICO) NO YES
URUGUAY YES YES
UZBEKISTAN YES YES
VANUATU NO NO
VATICAN CITY YES YES
VENEZUELA YES YES
VIET NAM YES YES
WESTERN SAMOA NO NO
WHITE RUSSIA (SEE ALSO BELARUS) YES YES
YEMEN YES YES
FORMRER ZAIRE, NOW: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO YES YES
ZAMBIA NO NO
ZIMBABWE NO NO
Visas are currently issued manually at Headquarters and no longer in missions abroad. There are two kinds of visas offered by the Department namely;
i) Single entry visa which is meant for a single journey and is valid for three months.
ii) Multiple entry visa is meant for multiple journeys and is valid for six months.
Visa application requirements depend on the purpose of visit and the application takes at least five working days.
There is also a link for visa applications for people abroad: visa-applications.immigration@gov.ls
Categories of Visas are as follows;
1. Business
2. Joining Relative
3. Missionary
4. Tourist
5. Sports
6. Volunteer
7. Tertiary/ Universities/Schools
8. Marriage
9. Expatriates etc
2. ISSUANCE OF RESIDENCE PERMITS
The department of Immigration Services is mandated to issue residence permits to non-citizens residing in the country. These permits were administered manually until in November 2018 when the department migrated to electronic residence permits.
Types of residence permits offered are as follows;
-30 days visitors permit obtained upon entry
– Temporary residence permit valid for 90 days
– Two years residence permit
– Study permit
– Indefinite residence permit
Applicants can lodge their applications at www.homeaffairslesotho.com or to get any additional information about the application process.
Categories of residence permits are as follows.
1. Business Permit
2. Teachers Permit
3. Doctor’s Permit
4. Volunteers Permit
5. Missionary Permit
6. Joining relative Permit
7. Joining spouse and married woman permit
8. Returning Citizens Permit etc.
3. BORDER CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT
There are fourteen ports of entry which Lesotho shares with South Africa. The flow on all these borders is different depending on the areas they are located. Maseru Bridge and Ficksburg Bridge commonly known as Maputsoe Bridge are the largest and busiest and they operate 24 hours.
Operating hours
Border District Normal hours
1. Caledonspoort Butha-Buthe 06:00 – 22:00
2. Sani Pass Mokhotlong 06:00 – 18:00
3. Peka Bridge Leribe 08:00 – 16:00
4. Ficksburg Bridge Leribe 24 hours
5. Maseru Bridge Maseru 24 hours
6. Moshoeshoe 1 International Airport Maseru 08:00 – 16:00
7. Van Rooyens’ Gate Mafeteng 06:00 – 22:00
8. Makhaleng Bridge Mohaleshoek 08:00 – 16: 00
9. Tele Bridge Quthing 06:00 – 22:00
10. Qacha’snek Qacha’snek 07:00 – 20:00
11. Ramatšeliso’s Gate Qacha’snek 06:00- 18:00
12. Sephapho’s Gate Mafeteng 08:00 – 16:00
4. CITIZENSHIP
Applications are submitted and processed manually at the ministry Headquarters. Applicants must have stayed continuously in Lesotho for at least 5 years with a valid residence permit to qualify for citizenship.
Lesotho now accepts dual citizenship as per the 08th Amendment to the Constitution Act 2018
Citizenship categories are as follows;
1. Independent
Married woman
Minor child