For the relevant traveller scope, is a visa, electronic authorisation, visa on arrival or no advance visa normally required?
The Lesotho charter lists Business as an entry-visa category. Entry permission depends on nationality: the embassy’s “To Lesotho” column marks India and China (People’s Republic) YES, and South Africa, the United Kingdom and United States NO. Australia, Canada and Portugal are marked with a star: the legend requires a visa when coming for more than 14 days. For applicants requiring a visa, this embassy describes a prior manual application through a Lesotho inviter or submission by email to Home Affairs; it does not issue visas at its office. After approval it says an emailed 72-hour visa-on-arrival letter permits entry only at Maseru Port of Entry or Moshoeshoe I International Airport. This is a pre-approved letter, not evidence of unconditional visa on arrival.
See recorded sources
Limits of the record
- The published table contains inconsistent entries for North Korea (Korea DPR marked NO and North Korea marked YES), and its generic regular-passport fee row says NEED VISA without reconciling nationality exemptions; these do not support a universal rule.
- The page does not establish the maximum stay of every unstarred visa-exempt nationality, all unlisted traveller cases or a uniform global application channel. The entry-letter process is the US embassy’s stated guidance.
- https://www.lesothoemb-usa.gov.ls/visa/ — table heading, legend and directional columns
List of all countries whose citizens require/do not require visas to enter the Kingdom of Lesotho YES - Citizens always require a Visa to enter Lesotho NO - Citizens DO NOT require a Visa to enter Lesotho * - Citizens only require a visa when coming to stay in Lesotho for more than 14 days Country To Lesotho From Lesotho
- https://www.lesothoemb-usa.gov.ls/visa/ — full directional nationality table
Country To Lesotho From Lesotho Afghanistan YES YES Albania YES YES Andorra YES YES Angola YES YES Antigua and Barbuda NO NO Argentina YES YES Armenia YES YES Australia* NO YES Azerbaijan YES YES Bahamas YES YES 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 Brunei 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 Eritrea YES YES Estonia YES YES Ethiopia YES YES Falkland Islands YES YES Fiji NO YES 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 YES YES 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 People's 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 Luxembourg* NO YES Macao YES 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 Montenegro YES YES Montserrat YES YES Morocco YES YES Mozambique NO NO Myanmar (Burma) YES YES Namibia NO NO Nauru YES YES 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 Northern 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 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 Helena and Dependencies YES YES Saint Lucia NO NO Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 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 YES Singapore NO NO Slovak Republic YES YES Slovenia YES YES Solomon Islands YES YES Somalia YES YES South Africa NO NO Spain* (including 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 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 NO YES Virgin Islands of the United States (including 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 Former Zaire now: Democratic Republic of Congo YES YES Zambia NO NO Zimbabwe NO NO
- https://www.lesothoemb-usa.gov.ls/visa/ — embassy prior application, approved entry letter and passport table
The Lesotho Embassy wishes to inform you that the Embassy does not issue visas in the office. All visa applications are done manually at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Lesotho. Thus, applicants are advised to communicate with their counterparts in Lesotho (person/Organization inviting them) to manually make an application on their behalf at the Ministry of Home Affairs, or you can upload and send the required documents for application of Entry Visas to Lesotho at visa-applications.immigration@gov.ls and copy the embassy (lesothoembassy@verizon.net) in your email. Visa Requirements Valid passports (at least six months) with a visa from transit or re-entry into the Republic of South Africa A formal application letter addressed to the Director of Immigration requesting a visa. Invitation Letter requesting your presence in the Kingdom of Lesotho. An introduction letter from your employer detailing your position, salary, how long you have been employed, any authorized vacation, and the business purpose, if any, of your trip. A medical report regarding the applicant's medical fitness to travel. Medical Insurance Three (3) months Bank Statement A yellow fever certificate from travelers coming from an infected area where HIV/AIDS is prevalent. Travelling Plan Confirmation of Hotel Bookings A complete application form Upon completion of the processing of the visa application which takes a maximum of ten (10) working days, if approved, you will be sent a 72-hour visa-on-arrival letter, that will allow entry into the country in your email. You will ONLY be allowed entry through Maseru Port of Entry and Moshoeshoe 1 International Airport. Kindly direct all other inquiries to visa-applications.immigration@gov.ls and make sure to copy the embassy for follow ups. Visa application Fees TYPE OF PASSPORT NEED / DOES NOT NEED VISA FEES UN PASSPORT HOLDERS DOES NOT NEED VISA FREE LAISSEZ PASSER DOES NOT NEED VISA FREE DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT HOLDERS NEED VISA FREE OFFICIAL / SERVICE PASSPORT NEED VISA FREE NORMAL / REGULAR PASSPORT NEED VISA M1000 for single entry M2000 for multiple entry
- https://www.gov.ls/eservice/format-for-non-citizens-service-delivery-charter/
Issuance of entry visa Categories;
- https://www.gov.ls/eservice/format-for-non-citizens-service-delivery-charter/
5) BUSINESS – Invitation letter from sponsor