Kenya Scraps eTA for African Travelers
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport got busier in 2024 due to the new eTA system (Wikimedia Commons).
The Kenyan government announced on January 21, 2025 that the electronic travel authorization (eTA) wouldn’t apply to African nationals in a much anticipated change to the new border policy. Citizens of African countries, with the exception of Somalians and Libyans, can enter Kenya for two months, and citizens of the East African Community (EAC) could stay up to six months visa-free. Even for other nationalities, the government has lessened the eTA restrictions, allowing instant approval and multiple entries within a 90-day period so that people do not have to pay the $30 fee continuously.
The eTA replaced the visa requirement in January 2024. Instead of paying $54 and submitting copious amounts of travel information for the visa, travelers only needed to insert basic personal information, flight and hotel reservations, and pay a $30 fee. Within three days, the eTA sends an electronic confirmation and approval for entry.
The Kenyan government created the eTA to maximize tourism revenue. The WTTC reported that over two million tourists visited Kenya in 2023, spending 466 billion dollars while in the country. Tourism contributed nearly one trillion dollars to the Kenyan economy, mainly in the form of jobs: one in 13 jobs in Kenya are tourism-related. President Ruto aims for five million tourist arrivals in Kenya by 2027, and he considers the visa requirement as a barrier. In a speech recorded by Al Jazeera, he advertised, “Tubong’u Lorre! [Welcome home!] Kenya is the home of humanity,” referencing Kenya’s Turkana Country and archaeological sites. The eTA allows travelers to quickly pay the fee and visit Kenya even during airport layovers, bringing in tourism revenue from travelers who aren’t staying in Kenya. After the announcement of the eTA, travel from outside of Africa increased by 32,000, amounting to an additional 1 million U.S. dollars.
An additional incentive for the eTA was enhanced vetting of travelers. The eTA can handle 5000 applications a day. Amidst increasing unrest in Somalia because of the Al-Shabab militant group and the Libyan Crisis, Kenya needs reliable data collection and improved border security, especially at airports. The Ministry of Interior released a statement on the official website saying, “Our previous system lacked a mechanism to collect important details from travellers… we now have comprehensive visitor data, enhancing our capacity to safeguard both visitors and Kenyan citizens.” While the eTA is meant to prevent security threats, columnists at Business Daily Africa worry whether the Kenyan government has the digital capacity and airport infrastructure to keep up with the new travel demand while scanning for threats.
However, many saw the change as a step backward. Prior to the change, citizens of over 40 countries—including many neighboring African ones—could cross the border into Kenya without paying any fee. The open borders allowed them to work in Kenya, visit friends and relatives, and easily appreciate other African cultures. Under eTA, only 17 countries, mostly those in the EAC, were exempt from the $30 fee. As a result, many Africans took to social media to complain over the new regulations. Malawian Jones Ntaukira complained on X, “So until 24 hours ago, as a Malawian, I could just wake up, buy a ticket and fly to Kenya in the afternoon, visa free. Now Kenya has ‘removed visa’ for everyone visiting Kenya, but now everyone has to pay $30 travel authorization fee 72 hours before travel. What?” The outcry over the changes led Kenya’s score on the 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index to drop 17 places to 46th place, out of 54 countries.
In response to these concerns, the government rolled back eTA requirements for African nationals last month. Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano explained, “We have been doing exit interviews at [Jomo Kenyatta International] Airport and, even if you looked at the social media, there seemed to have been inconveniences and dissatisfaction with the eTA.”
The waiver for African nationals will achieve the original intentions from the eTA while adding additional benefits. Now, Kenya can take advantage of increased regional tourism as African nationals can easily tour the country. Business tourism is an especially promising area. Business partners can easily travel in and out of Kenya, and there’s the possibility that additional labor will contribute to Kenya’s economy, even if they choose not to live in the country. Kenyan businesses can search neighboring countries for investors, and there’s even the chance for cross-country expansion—and the creation of an African multinational!
The decision to welcome all African nationals sets Kenya up as a leader in regional integration. Kenya joins Rwanda and Ghana in opening up borders and promoting inter-country cooperation. The movement towards a more open Africa follows encouragement from the African Union (AU). Secretary Miano celebrated, “exempting eTA for all African countries is a huge step.”