Afghanistan introduces new e-visa for tourism | News
Afghanistan has introduced a new e-visa system as the country continues its efforts to encourage more international visitors.
It comes as tourism to the country continues to grow. According to the government, almost 9,000 international tourists visited Afghanistan in 2024, including more than 7,000 in the first half of 2025.
The 2025 total is believed 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 form the current Afghan government, are recognized as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan by only one country. As a result, only a limited number of embassies and consulates worldwide have remained open and able to issue visas since the Taliban took power.
The most reliable and logistically practical for travelers to Afghanistan were in Dubai and the Gulf States, and travelers had to visit these consulates and embassies in person.
Due to the current conflict between Israel/USA and Iran, this has become extremely difficult and has forced Afghanistan to accelerate the implementation of the e-visa system.
It comes as the first regular guide to Afghanistan in twenty years was recently published. The new Bradt Guide to Afghanistan is now available for purchase and is written by Untamed Borders founder James Willcox.
James started organizing trips to Afghanistan in 2008. In addition to organizing many hundreds of group and private cultural trips to the country, James also launched the first-ever international group ski trips to Afghanistan in 2011 and co-founded the Afghanistan Marathon. The race lasted for six years and remains the country’s only mixed sporting event to date.
James has also spearheaded other groundbreaking projects in Afghanistan. These include organizing treks in the Wakhan Corridor, arranging logistics for the first kayaking trip to Afghanistan, the country’s first snowboarding film and is an associate producer of Champions of the Golden Valley – a multi-award winning film about the Afghan ski community, which can be viewed on Olympics.com.
James says: “There are many hurdles for someone traveling to Afghanistan and previously this started with the visa process.
Although a visit to Afghanistan still presents many challenges, the old difficult visa system is no longer one of them and that is a welcome change.
As tourism to the country continues to grow, streamlining the visa process will likely encourage more people to consider a trip to Afghanistan.
We have seen this happen in other challenging countries, such as Somalia and Libya, following the introduction of e-visas in those countries.”
You can view a full list of upcoming group tours to Afghanistan on the Untamed Borders website and email: [email protected] – for more information about private travel services in the country and for e-visa related questions.
