During the 2023 Jamhuri Day celebration, President William Ruto announced the abolition of the Visa requirement for all Africans beginning in January 2024.
“Beginning January 2024, Kenya will be a visa-free country. It shall no longer be necessary for any person from any corner of the globe to carry the burden of applying for a visa to come to Kenya,” President Ruto said.
However, almost a week into 2024, the Visa-free entry for all African visitors is yet to be implemented, the government has drawn rules that would govern the visa-free entry regime that was declared by the president.
The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations, 2023, says persons visiting Kenya must register on a portal to be established by the immigration director.
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCA) however clarified that the portal was yet to go live, hence the reason travellers are still being asked to apply for entry visas.
Once the portal goes live, passengers intending to travel into the country would have to state their official travel document number, issuing state, document type, date of expiry, surname, nationality, date of birth, and gender.
The foreigner will also have to state their baggage information, visa number, primary residence, destination address, place of birth, port of origin, port of clearance as well as passenger name record locator or unique identifier.
“All travellers coming to Kenya from countries that require visas shall continue applying for visas in the usual manner until the government communicates the change in programme to the ETA system,” KCAA said.
The government has further warned carriers against transporting into the country, passengers who have not obtained electronic travel authorization.
“Each carrier coming into the country shall not onboard a passenger who does not hold a valid Electronic Travel Authorisation,” the regulations read, charging captains of the various carriers with the responsibility to ensure compliance with the directive.
