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Hi friends,

Marrying a mwenyeji soon and moving to Zanzibar. I lived on the mainland near his hometown for three years as a volunteer so I am fluent in kiswahili, and when he and I met we just hit it off so naturally and have been together for two years now. Neither one of us is very familiar with what I am and am not allowed to do once I move to Zanzibar to join him, and it has been confusing trying to find out.

I have visited several times and there are SO many foreigners in Zanzibar compared to mainland. Of course it is an incredible tourist destination, but it also has many foreign residents. How is everyone able to have these homes, businesses, etc, when my understanding was that foreigners are not allowed to own property?

My fiancee and I have one personal experience of an international couple and we know that the Swedish woman married the Tanzanian man so she could have a business in Zanzibar. They fight all the time and don't even speak the same language (figure that one out haha). I don't want to assume that is a common occurrence.

I know that a few different South African "friends" of my fiancee have approached him asking if they can buy land in his name, and I am often worried he is being taken advantage of- that they are less interested in partnering with him and moreso in using his nationality for their profit. This is exploitation, to be clear. 

If anyone has a home and/or business in Zanzibar for over a year, can you share how you managed to do that? And what visa are you using to be in Zanzibar? Please do not share your story if you have also exploited a local as I do not want to follow that example.

Cheers!