On Friday Kenya received the first batch of arrivals under the visa-free directive by President William Ruto.
While receiving the visitors at The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Immigration PS Julius Bitok said,
“The electronic travel authorization is a much superior system, as we are able to foretell persons coming to our country and ensure the necessary precautions are in place so that only the right people are welcomed.”
Kenya has so far received 5,000 electronic travel authorization (eTA) applications and 2,141 have been approved so far.
Ruto’s directive for visa-free entry
During the Jamhuri Day celebrations on December 12, 2023, President William Ruto announced that Kenya would be a visa-free country starting January 2024.
Ruto explained that visitors would be identified beforehand.
“Kenya will be a visa-free country. Anyone from any part of the globe can visit Kenya. We will use a digital platform to identify visitors beforehand.”
The Department of Immigration in the country has developed a digital platform www.etakenya.go.ke, which aims to ensure that all travellers to Kenya are identified in advance through an electronic Travel Authorisation system.
What is Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA)
Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) is a system the immigration department has set up to identify those travelling to Kenya beforehand.
In a notice dated January 5, 2023, the department said,
“Henceforth, all travellers coming to Kenya will be required to apply and pay for the electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) prior to travel.”
However, the notice exempts the following persons.
- Holders of valid Kenya passports or one-way Emergency Certificate issued by Kenya Missions abroad
- Holders of Kenya Permanent Residence, valid work permits, and passes
- Holders of valid United Nations Conventional Travel Document issued by the government of Kenya
- Members of Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations Accredited to Kenya
- Citizens of the East African Partner States. These countries include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. (Exempted for 6 months)
- All passengers in transit through Kenya arriving and leaving by the same aircraft or transferring to another aircraft and who do not leave the precincts of airports in Kenya
- All passengers arriving and leaving by the same ship, and who do not leave the ship
- Members of crew of any ship, aircraft, train, vehicle, or carrier whose name and particulars are included in the crew manifest of the ship, aircraft, train, vehicle, or carrier; and who are proceeding in such ship, aircraft, train, vehicle, or carrier to a destination outside Kenya
Requirements for applying for eTA
Anyone applying for electronic Travel Authorisation is required to have the following:
- A valid passport for at least 6 months after their planned date of arrival into Kenya with at least one black page
- Selfie or passport-type photo
- Contact information(phone number and email address)
- Details of arrival and departure itinerary
- Accommodation booking confirmation(s)
- Credit card, debit card, Apple Pay or other means of payment
- Financial assets and return flight ticket details for some passengers based on their country of origin
Charges for the eTA is $30.
Fines to airlines not providing passenger data
Airlines that do not provide accurate passenger information will be fined $10,000, equivalent to KSh 1.57 million unless they convince the director that it was not intentional.
The involved airlines will also be required to return passengers without eTAs back to their country of origin.
Immigration PS Julius Bitok has said the government targets to have 5 million tourists visiting the country annually and collecting KSh 1.5 trillion in tourism revenue.
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