Solomon Islands visitors should apply online and verify conflicting tourist fees

Use the electronic procedure before relying on arrival arrangements

Tourists preparing to visit Solomon Islands should use the official electronic visa procedure and allow time for a decision. The UK government updated its travel advice on 12 October 2026 to address the new system and reported delays. This report is a current follow-up checked on 29 October, rather than a claim that the portal launches today.

The UK entry guidance says British tourists must apply through the Solomon Islands Immigration Division portal. It cautions that arrival issuance may remain possible during rollout but is not guaranteed. A traveller should therefore not build an itinerary around an assumed exception at the airport. Keep the application reference number and visa documents as printed copies or screenshots for airline and immigration checks.

Select the category matching the real purpose of travel

The Immigration Division’s Visas page says short-term visitor, business and commercial-vessel transit categories, including relevant exemptions and special purposes, must use the electronic portal. It separately says long-term applications such as working resident, accompanying family and student cases remain paper applications through the immigration counter while their online availability is pending.

That distinction matters for someone intending to take employment or study rather than spend a holiday. A tourist application should not be used to avoid the requirements of another category. Use the official category descriptions before submitting, particularly where the traveller has a host, an employer or an activity that extends beyond ordinary sightseeing.

The separate EU mutual-visa resource identifies a visa-waiver agreement for qualifying EU citizens allowing up to 90 days in 180. It also provides the relevant online procedure. Such applicants should check that specific route rather than assume the paid tourist instructions apply identically to every nationality.

Distinguish the visa’s validity from each permitted stay

The division’s Tourist Visa page describes multiple entries, visa validity of one year and a permitted stay of three months per entry. The longer validity is not permission for an uninterrupted year in the country. Check the granted letter and any individual entry conditions before calculating a departure date.

That page requests a passport biodata copy, a cover letter explaining the purpose, return or onward travel, hotel confirmation where applicable and sufficient funds. It prohibits work and says the category is not for business, employment or study. Provide evidence matching the actual proposed visit, rather than a generic statement that the trip is temporary.

Resolve the published fee discrepancy before payment

The Tourist Visa page lists a USD 50 visa fee and a separate USD 50 online lodgement fee. However, the commerce ministry’s Short Term Visa page lists USD 100 for the tourist visa plus USD 50 online. The UK guide quotes USD 100 without the same breakdown. These official descriptions do not establish one consistent total across the reviewed pages.

Confirm the applicable charge with Immigration and the official portal before payment. This report does not select a lower figure as guaranteed, or portray the discrepancy as a newly effective fee change. Save the official invoice and receipt so that the visa charge and online service charge can be identified separately.

The commerce ministry also lists different charges for business, yacht and journalist categories. Paying a fee associated with tourism should not be treated as permission to undertake a differently regulated activity.

Prepare an extension before the entry permission expires

The tourist guidance requires extension applications well before expiry, through the immigration visa-service counter, and lists a USD 100 extension charge. Its existence does not guarantee approval. The separate official Form 2 asks applicants to explain compelling special circumstances, provide onward-journey evidence and show how the additional stay will be funded.

That form prints an SBD 1,000 application fee, another amount requiring confirmation against the current service instructions. It also distinguishes the maximum continuous stay with an approved sponsor from that without one. Use the form to understand the evidence requested, while asking Immigration which current procedure and charge apply.

British travellers should also check the UK guide’s passport requirement: six months of remaining validity after arrival and two blank pages. For illustration, an approved visa does not resolve a passport that fails the separate document requirements. Complete both checks before departure.