Effective immediately, the government has implemented a policy exempting citizens of most African countries, citizens of several other countries, and some other categories of traveler, from obtaining an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) in order to enter Kenya.
Persons exempt from obtaining eTA include the following:
- Holders of Kenya Permanent Residence, valid Work Permits and Passes.
- All persons whose passports are endorsed with valid Kenya re-entry passes or any other written authority in lieu of a re-entry pass.
- Citizens of the East African Partner States: These countries include Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda for a period not exceeding 180 days.
- Nationals of the following Countries for a period not exceeding 90 days:
- Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cyrus, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji Island, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malaysia, Maldives, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Union of Comoros, Samoa, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, St. Kitts and Navis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Seychelles, The Bahamas, The Gambia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
- Nationals of the following African countries for a period not exceeding 60 days:
- Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia,
- 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 or carrier and who is proceeding in such ship, aircraft or carrier to a destination outside Kenya.
- Owners of private aircraft stopping over for refueling in Kenya and who do not leave the precincts of the airport.
- Holders of various laissez-passers, diplomatic, special, official or service passports and serving members of the British military.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or if you have case-specific questions.