First Visa-free foreigners arrive in Kenya, over 5K applications received

The first batch of visa-free international travellers to Kenya have arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

This is according to Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, who on Friday said 2,141 travellers had already been approved on the new Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) model.

He underscored the ease of applications on ETA saying that the government had also received over 5,000 applications for ETA following President William Ruto's ban on Visa requirements.

“It’s very easy to apply and get an ETA. You just need to fill in your personal data in ten minutes and you should be able to get approval in 72 hours. We have made sure that travelling to Kenya is going to be an easy and pleasant experience,” he said.

The first batch arrived on Ethiopian Airlines flight number ET 318 from Addis Ababa and was received by the PS.

Passengers echoed Bitok’s sentiments noting that the ETA process was simple and faster compared to the Visa application system it has replaced. 

“We used to spend long hours going through the Visa application but it took me a few minutes to complete the ETA process for my entire family,” South Korean national Kyunga Sang Yoo, who is a frequent visitor to Kenya, said.

Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki recently gazetted the new ETA regulations to anchor President Ruto’s directive which seeks to “double or at least drastically increase the two million annual visitors to Kenya.”

PS Bitok says the country hopes to absorb the foregone revenue from Visa applications from the anticipated spending by a higher number of tourists.

“On average, each visitor spends around Ksh.500,000 within three months in Kenya. We believe we can grow the annual revenue from increased tourism to Ksh.1.5 trillion every year,” he noted.

The PS at the same time dismissed criticism that Visa-free entry will expose the country to insecurity, saying the new system offers better means of identifying and blacklisting undesirable visitors.

“ETA is a much superior system as we’re able to foretell persons who are coming to our country in advance and ensuring the necessary precautions are in place so that only the right people are welcomed,” he stated.

He further said that although Kenya hoped other countries would reciprocate the Visa-free regime for its citizens, the benefits of indiscriminate Visa policy outweighed concerns of failure to respond in kind.