Zanzibar/East Africa Divemaster Courses

[asuddenmorning]

Hi All,

I'm relocating to East Africa in the near future, and researching the best areas to do divemaster course or internship. I already have a general idea on which of the shops are considered the most reputable and where the diving is best, but do feel free to plug your favorite locales. My question is more geared towards employment.

Is it feasible to find work as a divemaster located in East Africa as a foreigner? Seems like Tanzania only has 3 month visas, are those in Zanzibar and the other islands able to work continuously/border hopping required?

Thanks in advance!
~ S

 

[billt4sf]

Cool. I wish I could be of some help but I love to hear that you are relocating to Africa. We hope to do that in a couple years' time.

- Bill

 

[stefo2]

Don't know about Tanzania mainland, but the authorities in Zanzibar are quite strict on foreigners working there on tourist visas, so I don't think you will find any reputable shop that it willing to risk being heavily fined for employing you without work permit. The work permit is quite easy to get -you or your employer will simply have to pay for it, I think after the latest increase in price it is now $1200 per year.

 

[TrialMonkey]

Work visas are expensive, so you will need to find somewhere looking for a longer tern contract if you want to work legally. You can work on a tourist visa in a lot of East Africa but on Zanzibar there is a high risk immigration will come by. If you are doing a divemaster course you could look into getting an education exemption through the dive shop, but this may also be expensive and time consuming.

Most of the dive shops I have seen in Tanzania and Mozambique have good local DMs, and are hiring foreign staff for teaching, languages and management. If you speak a couple of European languages (especially Italian) you may be able to find work there, if not look at smaller areas and in Malawi.

I think your best bet would be to talk about these issues with the shop you are looking to intern with, they should be able to give you the best guidance.