Posts falsely claim Namibia has announced deportation of 500 Americans

“Over 500 Americans set for deportation — no visa, no stay! Namibia’s President isn’t smiling,” reads an X post published on April 13, 2025.

It continues: “She boldly declared: ‘If Africans need visas to enter the U.S., then Americans must also need visas to enter Namibia!’”

The post includes photos of Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, US President Donald Trump, and a picture of people boarding a plane.

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Screenshot of the false X post, taken on April 21, 2025

The claim has been shared thousands of times on social media, including on Threads, X and Facebook.

Reactions to the posts show many lauding the purported announcement. 

Namibia has recently changed its visa entry requirements, making them stricter for citizens from more than 30 countries around the world, including the United States.

But, the government has not announced that 500 US citizens will be deported.

Ease of travel 

A keyword search for “Namibia AND deportation” turned up countless blog articles, posts and videos repeating the claim, despite the lack of an official announcement from the government. 

When asked about the claim, Namibia’s home affairs spokeswoman Margaret Kalo said on April 15, 2025, that they were unaware “of any such developments”.

The Namibian presidency published an X post on the same day labelling the claim as “fake news” (archived here). 

In an email to AFP Fact Check on April 17, 2025, the US embassy wrote: “The Namibian Presidency has reported this as fake news.”

Reciprocity

According to the country’s tourism data, more than 25,500 people travelled to Namibia from the United States in 2023.

Last year, Namibia’s parliament approved new visa requirements for 31 countries, including the United States. 

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Screenshot of the 31 countries affected by Namibia's visa changes

Australia and New Zealand were later added to the list, making it 33 (archived here).

“In recent years, the Republic of Namibia has extended gestures of goodwill and favourable treatment to nationals of various countries,” reads a statement from the home affairs ministry.

“However, despite these efforts, certain nations have not reciprocated,” it added. “In light of these disparities, the government has deemed it necessary to implement a visa requirement to ensure parity and fairness in diplomatic interactions.”

The new requirements went into effect on April 1, 2025. The next day, the US embassy in Namibia announced that the Namibian government would “require US citizens to obtain a visa prior to entering the country” and recommended visitors do this in advance (archived here). 

The embassy said there were no changes to other types of visas, such as student, volunteer or work visas, which must be obtained before travel. 

The statement also indicated that travellers who overstay or possess an incorrect or missing entry stamp may face detention, arrest, and fines -- but did not mention deportations.

Namibian press secretary Alfredo Hengari also told AFP Fact Check that the president had not publicly commented on Namibia’s new visa requirements. 

Since Trump returned to the White House, AFP Fact Check has debunked numerous claims related to migration, which you can read here.