I just received a memo from NAMPOL regarding my firearms application I sent in by e-mail.

It states that A Namibia now wants "6 blank pages in your passport" upon arrival.

Apparently this has been on the books for a while, but in all my years of going there, I've never had them check or ask about it.

Has anyone else had any experience with this at Immigration upon arrival?

Thanks

This is ridiculous!

I travel all over the world, and so many countries make several stamps on the same page!!

To save space.

Interesting. I did not get that response when they replied to me. We fly Friday evening arriving Sunday so I guess we will see. I do a bit of traveling myself. DOS gave me a 64 page passport last time and it is about full. I will need to check if I have 6 clean pages. Even the most ridiculous areas only need a page for entry and another for exit at most.

One of the stupidest entry requirements for some countries. Second is that your passport is “expired” 5 months and 30 days from true expiration. I understand a little bit if the tourist visa maxes out at 6 months, but....

The missus and I were waiting on an outbound flight several years ago when a school group from the US arrived on an inbound flight at Windhoek. Their passports were checked - and one unfortunate student didn't have the required number of pages remaining. So the whole group (about 20 teens) were held up while they tried to resolve the issue. Wasn't a quick fix - when we left they were still there...

Western governments should officially notify the Namibian MOFA on reciprocity, i.e. "In future any Namibian citizen wishing to enter a Western country, must have 6 pages free".

Last trip I was there, they did look for a couple blank pages, and the expiration date did have to be six months out. That was two years ago, it's possible they have expanded the requirements. I was told by my PH though, make very sure to have at least two blank pages, as they would check it. They did too.

Hi:

Thanks for the reply and info. what you have experienced seems to be the norm so far.

Terry

2 pages makes sense and is the standard for most countries.

Safe travels

Go by the advise your experienced international travel agent tells you. Had a client make his reservation on the Internet. Upon checking in for his flight to Africa he was asked for his passport. He was not allowed to get on the plane as he didn't have enough pages.

Mark

Been traveling to Namibia for the past 11 years - sometimes multiple trips a year.

The 6-blank page and 6 months of validity AFTER your planned departure has been published and required for at least that long.

Secondly, in your OP, you received the info directly from NAMPOL. Agree with it or not, it is probably a good idea to follow the instructions from the folks who enforce the rules (NAMPOL).

In 2008, we went with another couple. At some point, he had punched two holes in just the back cover of his passport to store in a binder in his safe. Clearing the Immigration desk, he was stopped and denied entry. At the time, we were both active duty military and I had the phone number to the US Embassy and the US Defense Attache'. It was late on a Friday afternoon and the embassy was just closing.

Called the Embassy and the DAT and the US Ambassador convinced the Immigration Supervisor to let my friend temporarily enter and voluntarily confine himself to the B&B we were booked into for the weekend so he could be at the embassy when it opened Monday morning. On Monday, the US Embassy issued him a temp US passport so he could join us.

The embassy explained that the holes he punched in the cover is "internationally recognized" a passport has been invalidated and technically, they could have forced him to leave on the next flight out (deported). It all worked out but, cost him several sleepless nights and missed four days of hunting.