Travel Authorization now free of charge for Seychelles passport holders |01 April 2022

• President Ramkalawan spearheads initiative to remove application fee for citizens

As of yesterday March 31, 2022, Seychellois citizens no longer have to pay for a Travel Authorization when travelling home on their Seychelles passport, the Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, has announced.

This means that they will now submit their documents via the Seychelles Travel Authorization platform free of charge.

Following the rapid recovery, coupled with the reduction in documents required for Covid-19 screening, the cost of processing individual passengers has driven down, thanks to volume based discounts and lower fees from automation. Testament to Seychelles’ strong performance in 2021, the elimination of the fee for Seychellois passport holders was made possible by the rapid recovery in traveller numbers and newly simplified rules for travelling.

It is important to note that this discount was anticipated by the government of Seychelles and included in key clauses in the original contract of March 2021.

This change will apply to all applications from Seychellois passport holders, including both the Standard applications (€5.40) and expedited (currently €25.40).

Fees for permit holders and foreign passport holders remain unchanged.

All Seychellois are encouraged to apply with their Seychelles passport to benefit, as any Seychellois citizen travelling on a foreign passport will be subject to the processing fees, until further upgrades are done to the system in order to recognise other forms of identification (including NIN).

“The system will continue to evolve to further facilitate the travel experience for Seychellois citizens, including those travelling on foreign passports as they do not hold a Seychelles one.

They will soon simply be able to upload another form of ID to the online platform. This complements the government’s announcement last week that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will open a new office to address issues and concerns from the diaspora, and this shows how the different ministries are working in collaboration for the betterment of our community.

“As landlord of the Seychelles International Airport, the Ministry of Transport continues to emphasise on providing a seamless passenger experience for all, including our locals. Certain changes happen faster than others, but note that we are working day and night to be able to provide a world class experience that will hopefully match our plans for a world class airport,” Minister Derjacques said.

The government of Seychelles anticipates further streamlining of the application process for citizens over the coming months, including the enabling of auto approvals of fully-vaccinated, or Covid-19 negative citizens who can provide verifiable digital health certificates issued locally or internationally.

Using the same Travel Authorization portal (https://seychelles.govtas.com), Seychellois will now be guided to only upload a copy of their passport, a selfie, their proof of up-to-date vaccination or negative Covid-19 test (as per Public Health Authority requirements), to enter contact and trip information, and answer questions relating to Customs, Immigration and biosecurity; and it will all be processed free of charge.

The enhanced flow will enable a prepared citizen to complete their TA in around three minutes, and even faster when using the TA mobile app, which can save a traveller’s profile (including passport, selfie, and contact information) from previous applications.

Previous steps to automate the process, such as secure health certificate verification have already proven successful with the system being able to automatically validate and verify health certificates from more than 45 different countries, regardless of language.

The fee collected from visitors and permit holders will be used to support further upgrades to the arrival and departure process, to guarantee a simple and seamless travel experience for all passengers into and out of Seychelles.

Anyone requiring assistance with an application can contact the Travel Authorization team 24/7 via email (support@govtas.com); live chat on the website or; by calling the hotline on 2519717.

Press release from the Ministry of Transport