Tanzania · Africa
Moving to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam quick facts
Tanzania at a glance
Sub-Saharan Africa
Economy
World BankReligion
% of populationCIA World Factbook / national censuses
Cost of living in Dar es Salaam
Can you move to Tanzania?
Pick your passport to see whether you can enter Tanzania — and what it takes to stay.
Entry rules come from github.com/imorte/passport-index-data, updated 17 February 2026. They change without notice — confirm with the official immigration service before booking.
Getting set up in Tanzania
The work permit and the residence permit — two instruments, two bodies
Tanzania runs two parallel systems. The Labour Commissioner issues a work permit under the Non-Citizens (Employment Regulation) Act 2015, with classes A to E. The Immigration Services Department issues a residence permit, with classes A, B and C. Immigration's guidelines state that the work permit comes first, except for students, researchers, retirees and court attendees. The letters overlap and the meanings do not.
Read the full step-by-step guideConverting your licence — through the Tanzania Revenue Authority
Tanzania's computerised driving licence system is run by TRA — the same body that collects your tax. Foreign residents convert their existing licence rather than testing, the licence is issued for a set period and renewed through TRA, and you will need a TIN to transact with them at all.
Read the full step-by-step guideOpening a Tanzanian bank account and using mobile money
CRDB, NMB, NBC, Stanbic and Absa all open accounts for foreign residents with a residence permit, TIN, proof of address and employer letter. Mobile money is universal and, unusually, interoperable between networks — but because SIM registration in Tanzania is tied to a national identification number, mobile money is not the day-one workaround it is in Kenya or Rwanda.
Read the full step-by-step guideHealth cover, Dar's hospitals and coastal malaria
Aga Khan Hospital and the private clinics on and around the Msasani peninsula are where most expatriates go; Muhimbili is the national referral hospital. Private cover is standard in professional packages. Malaria is a real, year-round risk at sea level here — unlike in the region's highland capitals — and evacuation cover matters for anything complex.
Read the full step-by-step guideGetting a Tanzanian SIM — and why it needs your permit
Vodacom, Airtel, Yas and Halotel are the networks. SIM registration in Tanzania is biometric and tied to a national identification number, which foreign residents obtain from NIDA on the basis of a residence permit. That makes the SIM — and therefore mobile money — dependent on immigration rather than independent of it, which is the reverse of Kenya and Rwanda.
Read the full step-by-step guideTRA registration, PAYE and Tanzanian tax residency
The Tanzania Revenue Authority issues a TIN and runs filing through its online systems. Employment income is withheld under PAYE at graduated rates, with statutory social security contributions alongside. Tax residency turns principally on presence of 183 days or more in a year of income, and a resident is taxed on worldwide income.
Read the full step-by-step guideEach guide has verified costs, timelines, required documents, and the non-obvious gotchas — sourced from official government pages. Last verified August 2026.
Essential Swahili phrases
Reading a list isn’t learning it. Globe Quest turns these into a trainer — hear each phrase spoken, drill them with spaced repetition, and get scored as you say them out loud.
What to know before you go
Dodoma is the capital, not Dar es Salaam
ImportantTanzania moved its seat of government to Dodoma, and ministries, the parliament and much of the civil service are there. Dar es Salaam remains the commercial capital, the port, the banks and where almost everyone works — but if your business is with a ministry, the trip inland is a real feature of the job, not an occasional inconvenience. Budget for it.
Your work permit and your residence permit are two different applications
CriticalThe Labour Commissioner issues the work permit; the Immigration Services Department issues the residence permit; immigration's own guidance says the work permit comes first. Both use the letters A, B and C for their classes and the letters do not mean the same thing in each system. Approval of one is not approval of the other, and confusing them is the most common way a Tanzanian relocation goes wrong.
Learn Swahili — it is used here far more than in Nairobi
ImportantTanzania made Swahili the national language and it genuinely functions as one across ethnic lines and social classes. English is common in business and in the expatriate bubble, but daily life outside Masaki runs in Swahili. Tanzanians are notably generous with learners and standard Tanzanian Swahili is the form taught worldwide.
This is a hot, humid, sea-level city
ImportantNothing about Dar's climate resembles Nairobi, Kigali or Addis. It is coastal, humid and hot most of the year, with a heavy long-rains season around March to May. Air conditioning, ceiling fans and lighter clothing matter, and the middle of the day genuinely slows down. If you are relocating within East Africa, this is the biggest physical adjustment.
Zanzibar is two hours away and administers its own immigration
Good to knowThe ferry from the port takes about two hours and Zanzibar is part of Tanzania — but it runs its own immigration administration, and residence permits and investment approvals there go through Zanzibar's own offices and ZIPA rather than the mainland department. For a weekend it does not matter. For a job, a business or a property purchase, it is a completely separate process.
Traffic is severe and the BRT is genuinely the fast option
Good to knowDar's congestion is among the worst in the region. The DART bus rapid transit corridor — locals call it mwendokasi — has dedicated lanes and moves while everything else does not. Expatriates routinely overlook it because they arrive assuming there is no public transport worth using. On the corridors it covers, it is the quickest way across the city.
Top industries & employers
Port, logistics & regional trade
Tanzania Ports Authority, DP World, TAZARA, freight and clearing firms
The port of Dar es Salaam is the sea outlet for Zambia, Malawi, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and eastern DRC — the single most important economic fact about the city and the reason its logistics sector is so large.
Financial services
CRDB, NMB, NBC, Stanbic, Absa, Bank of Tanzania
Every major Tanzanian bank is headquartered here, along with the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and the central bank's operations.
Telecoms & mobile money
Vodacom Tanzania, Airtel, Yas, Halotel, TTCL
Tanzania was an early global mover on mobile-money interoperability, so transfers work between networks rather than trapping you on one — an unusual and genuinely useful market feature.
Energy, mining & natural gas
Songas, PanAfrican Energy, TPDC, Barrick, gold and tanzanite operations
Corporate, technical and services functions for the country's gas and mining sectors are run from Dar even though the assets are upcountry and offshore.
Manufacturing & FMCG
Tanzania Breweries, Bakhresa, Sayona, cement and packaging firms
The industrial belt along Nyerere Road and out toward Mkuranga is East Africa's second-largest manufacturing cluster after Nairobi's.
Development & international organisations
UN agencies, World Bank, bilateral donors, health and conservation INGOs
A substantial donor presence, weighted toward health, education and conservation programmes, concentrated around Msasani and Oyster Bay.
Where to go in Dar es Salaam
Kivukoni Fish Market
Food · Kivukoni, by the harbour entrance
The city's fish market on the point where the harbour meets the ocean — auctions at dawn, grills going all morning.
Local tip: Come before 8am for the auction, then have your fish grilled at the stalls behind. It is loud, wet and the single most alive place in Dar.
Kariakoo Market
Neighborhood · Kariakoo
The vast trading district that supplies half the country — streets organised by product, and an education in how the regional economy actually moves.
Local tip: Go with someone who knows it, keep your phone away, and go for a specific thing rather than to browse. Prices here set prices everywhere else in the city.
Coco Beach & the Msasani peninsula
Nature · Oyster Bay
The city beach on the peninsula, busy with families and food vendors at weekends and quiet on weekday evenings.
Local tip: Sunday afternoon is when Dar comes here. Currents make swimming poor — this is a walking, eating and watching beach, not a swimming one.
Bongoyo Island
Nature · Boat from Msasani slipway
A small marine-reserve island half an hour offshore, with clear water, grilled fish and almost nothing else.
Local tip: Boats leave from the slipway a few times a day. Go on a weekday and you will nearly have it to yourself; go Sunday and half of Masaki is there.
National Museum & Botanical Gardens
Culture · Central, near Ocean Road
Colonial-era buildings holding Tanzania's national collection, including hominid material from Olduvai, in gardens laid out in the German period.
Local tip: The Olduvai and Laetoli material is the reason to go and it is easy to walk past. Combine it with the Ocean Road seafront walk toward Kivukoni.
Village Museum (Makumbusho)
Hidden gemCulture · Kijitonyama, on the Bagamoyo road
Full-scale traditional dwellings from across Tanzania rebuilt on one open site, with craft demonstrations and weekend dance performances.
Local tip: Almost no international visitors and a genuinely good way to understand how varied Tanzania is beyond the coast. Go on a Saturday afternoon when the performances run.
Emergency numbers in Dar es Salaam
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