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10-08-2025
LUSAKA: Zambia’s government said on Friday it was concerned about the “unnecessary financial strain” that would be caused by a new rule requiring its citizens to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to obtain some types of US visas.
Starting August 20, President Donald Trump’s administration will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to post a bond of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 under a pilot program for tourist and business visas, the State Department said on Tuesday.
“While the (US) government has a prerogative to initiate policy changes, the Zambian government views this development with serious concern, given its potential economic implications on trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchanges,” Zambia’s Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe said in a statement.
“This includes the unnecessary financial strain on Zambian nationals.”
The move comes as Trump cracks down on illegal immigration, targeting countries with high overstay rates. The bond amount will be returned if the applicant leaves the US within the allowed window of time and complies with all the terms of their visa status. Haimbe said his government would engage with US counterparts to explore possible solutions. He added that it would not affect Zambians applying for student visas or those issued a valid visa before August 20.
The Southern African country’s average household income is roughly $150 per month, according to the government’s latest statistical report.
“For most Zambians… this bond is not just unaffordable, it’s laughable,” said Anthony Mukwita, a Zambian international relations analyst and former diplomat in a Facebook post.
“It could drill a borehole and bring clean water to an entire village,” Mukwita said. “Instead, it is being used to buy a chance at an American dream, a dream that’s increasingly looking like a gated community with a very expensive entry fee.”
Neighboring Malawi’s government has not yet officially responded to the measure.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s administration will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, the State Department.
“Starting August 20, 2025, any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, determined at time of visa interview,” the State Department said in a notice on its website.
A notice about the program, which gives US consular officers worldwide the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, appeared on the Federal Register on Monday but no country names had been mentioned.
A State Department spokesperson on Monday said countries would be identified based on “high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations.”
The spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the list of countries may be updated from time to time.
The bond amount will be returned to the applicant if the applicant leaves the US within the allowed window of time in line with their visa and complies with all the terms of their visa status.
President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people who are in the US illegally. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
