Cabinet approves travel exemptions for Africa
By Alvin Mwangi, January 23, 2025
The Cabinet has approved a proposal to exempt travellers from all African countries from the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), as part of efforts to support open skies policies and grow tourism. Somalia and Libya have, however, been exempted from the waiver due to security concerns.
The eTA is a semi-automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to Kenya. The system offers permission to travel and is authorised by the Government of Kenya.
“This initiative aims to promote regional integration and ease travel across the continent. Most African visitors will be allowed a two-month stay, while East African Community (EAC) nationals will continue to enjoy a six-month stay under EAC free movement protocols,” the resolution reads.
Cabinet said the move is aimed at enhancing eTA system to boost efficiency and improve the traveller experience. Travellers must apply for an eTA online at least three days before their trip to Kenya, unless they are citizens of an eTA-exempted country.
The eTA is required for tourist or business stays of up to 90 days at a cost of $30 (about Sh3,870). Until Tuesday’s decision to grant the eTA exemption, only 17 countries were exempted.
Tuesday’s decision was reached during the first Cabinet meeting of 2025 chaired by President William Ruto at State Lodge, Kakamega.
“To improve efficiency, an expedited eTA processing option will be introduced, allowing travellers to receive approval instantly, with processing time-capped at 72 hours based on operational capacity,” the Cabinet resolution stated.
Additionally, according to the Cabinet communication, the introduction of an Advanced Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record system will enhance pre-screening, strengthen security, and streamline passenger processing at entry points.
More tourists
The Cabinet further tasked the ministries of National Treasury, Transport, Interior and Tourism to review, report and, within a week, propose guidelines to improve travellers’ experience at all Kenyan airports.
The Cabinet Secretaries are set to give a detailed report by Wednesday next week. This comes even as the number of visitors touring our game reserves increased by 43 per cent reaching about 3.64 million in 2024 up from 2.54 million in 2023.
Giving an update on the state of tourism and wildlife in Kenya, Cabinet Secretary in charge of Tourism and Wildlife, Rebecca Miano, also revealed that the number of international tourists has gone up to 2.4 million in 2024 up from 2.08 million in 2023.
Miano said the digitisation of tourism services has also seen revenue grow from Sh5.35 billion in 2022/23 to Sh7.6 billion in 2023/24 financial year.
To address the emerging issues related to climate, the government has also built 21 water pans and 4 boreholes in Tsavo conservation area.