Zambian Immigration and Customs | Customs and Immigration

Mosambique -> Zambia:

Drive up to the boom, park on the right and enter the white building on your right. Immigration is to your left and customs to your right, all in one building.

Drive through the Moz gate and then through the Zam gate. Note that the latter might be closed when the officers have lunch...

Drive a few hundred meters to the red brick building on your left.

1. Enter through the main entrance and present your PCR test to the health official. He will only accept a Trusted Travel certified one, otherwise you are in trouble. Sadly he is backed by the Zambian law on that... Apparently the hospital in Tete can provide such a test.

2. After the Health Official has cleared your test you can go to immigration, in the same hall.

3. Then proceed to the left, walk along the outside wall and enter the next big waiting room. That's customs, although it says something else on the door.

4. Now you have to pay the carbon tax (also with a carnet). Proceed further left along the building till you reach its end. There is a room with a cashier for this tax. He can only accept Kwacha, though, so organise some beforehand. We needed 240kw (Hilux).

5. Go all the way back to the main entrance and continue to the right hand end of the brick building. There is another small room where you need to pay the road toll tax. Tell him to put all the roads in Zambia on your road toll document! Otherwise police might give you trouble if you are stopped somewhere that is not indicated on your document.
He prints out a very official looking document which you have to show at the toll stations or to the police. Cost is 20USD for a pickup.

6. Finally, you drive back to the main 'road' and find a light green shack on the right hand side. There you pay a small amount for the council fee, I think it was 50 kw, not sure anymore.

Now proceed to the boom, show them the road toll tax doc and the receipt for the council fee and off you go!

Note that the first 20km of the road north are absolutely terrible.
And note that you need a Zambian Third Party insurance. We got that in Chipata, but probably agents are stationed at the border as well.

Report Check-In

Zambia to Mozambique.

Note you need a trusted travel PCR test to cross this border which can only be obtained in Lusaka. The tests that they do in Chipata District hospital, which was also difficult to get, will not be accepted by the Zambian Port Health officials for you to exit Zambia. You will need to then be retested for a "fee" at the border. Not sure of the situation if you have no PCR test at all.

1. Drive up to the boom and say you are going to Mozambique, they will tell you to go to the big red facebrick building to the right.

2. Go to the Port health office in the immigration hall. They check your tests and clear you for immigration.

3. Stamp out of Zambia in the immigration hall.

4. Go to the customs office and get carnet stamped out.

5. Drive on the tar Road to the next boom here they will ask for proof your carne/CIP is stamped out.

Report Check-In

Zambia to Mozambique. Bribing attempt by the Zambian immigration and health officers. Our Covid certificates were done in Zambia (rapid antigen "test" at the border) by a Zambian health official. The border agent first pretended they are fake, and asked "what we had brought for her". Then the health officer closed the door of his office and threatened to put us in quarantine and to call security. We refused to pay anything, walked out of the office and crossed the border without stamping out. Presumably with a bona fide PCR test you will be ok

Report Check-In

Zambia to Mozambique:
[RSA registered vehicle and citizens]
Immigration hall:
1) Temperature check
2) Stamped out passport
Customs building to the left of Immigration:
1) Inspected vehicle for contents leaving country.
2) Removed vehicle off system.
3) Asked for proof of 2).
Done within 1 hour.
[NOTE: Crossing border at date of this check-in was only permitted through prior arranged Embassy approval of said countries].

Report Check-In

Good and friendly border. It’s a bit slow and you need a lot (see picture). For a 4.2l diesel cruiser the carbon tax 275kw (not payable in usd), 20 USD (only payable in usd) road toll tax and 40kw council levy. No atm yet, but they are building a new post as they’re rapidly growing. So for us only black market change unfortunately. Otherwise it’s an easy border.

Report Check-In