Visa Free Travel to Kenya – Implementation of eTA

published on 14 February 2024 | reading time approx. 3 minutes

Through the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 gazetted on 2 January 2024 (the Regulations), Kenya abolished visa requirements for all foreign nationals intending to travel to Kenya. Other than foreigners who have been exempted from obtaining the eTA, all travellers to Kenya, will be required to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) so as to be allowed to enter the country.

The eTA system is a semi-automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to Kenya. Currently the eTA is valid for single entry into Kenya valid. There are however plans to introduce a multiple-entry eTA option in the near future. The validity period is 90 days from the date of issuance.

Persons who are exempt from obtaining the eTA are as listed on the eTA website which we have reproduced below:

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 Nation Conventional Travel Document issued by the Government of Kenya.
Members of the Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations Accredited to Kenya.
Citizens of the East African Partner States; These countries include Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. (Exempted for six 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 is proceeding in such ship, aircraft, train, vehicle or carrier to a destination outside Kenya.
Owners of private aircraft stopping over for refuelling in Kenya and who do not leave the precincts of the airport.

The application to obtain the eTA is done through the website and it is mandated under Regulation 15 (B) of the Regulations that the applicant should apply and be in possession of the authorization before embarkment.

Processing time for the applications is three working days but in some cases it may take longer. For travellers who require a more rapid turnaround, the government provides an expedited processing option on payment of an additional fee. It is therefore highly recommended that travellers to apply for the authorisation as soon as they have booked their accommodations and travel tickets.

When applying, travellers will be required to provide biographical information, a valid passport, and passport photo. Travellers will also be required to provide their travel itinerary, travel tickets/booking and any other information relating to the application that the Director of Immigration Services may require.

Regulation 15 (5) shifts the burden to the carriers to ensure that all passengers onboard hold a valid Electronic Travel Authorization before departure. The operator or agent is required to submit an advance passenger information and passenger name record to the Director of Immigration Services before departure or within the timeframe specified in the Thirteenth Schedule of the Regulations.

In compliance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act, 2019, the immigration officer shall process and analyse the advance passenger information or passenger name record data and shall give access to this information or the result of processing to a control agency where necessitated.

Regulation 16 (I) mandates the Director, six months after taking possession of the advance passenger information data and passenger name record data, to depersonalize the data by masking from display data elements which could serve to identify a data subject to another person, such as names, addresses, contact information, frequent flyer information etc.

It should however be noted that the Director has powers to reverse the depersonalization of data where such reversal is necessary for the purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting a specified offence. This information shall be retained for a maximum period not exceeding five years from the date of receipt of the data where that data is required for the investigation of the commission of a specified offence.

Some of the significant changes that have been by the implementation of the eTA system include:

Reduced application fees: Other than those travellers who have been exempted, the current application fees for all travellers irrespective of the country of origin is USD. 30 plus bank and processing fees currently USD 2.50.
Equality: All travellers other than those exempted are required to fill out the eTA application forms hence the ability to obtain a comprehensive data on all visitors, significantly improving our ability to ensure the safety and well-being of both our visitors and citizens.
Simple and faster process: Travellers do not need to fill out forms on the plane or upon arrival as the whole process has been digitised. Processing time is three working days but in some cases it may take longer.

N/B: It should be noted that the possession of an eTA is not the final authority to enter the Republic of Kenya. Admissibility will be determined at the point of entry.