Kenya VISA Requirements 

Who Requires a Visa to enter The Republic of Kenya?

A citizen of a foreign country, wishing to enter The Republic of Kenya, generally must first obtain an evisa via www.ecitizen.go.ke.

Nationals of the Countries Listed Below may be issued with an eVisas Upon Application on www.ecitizen.go.ke (category 2 Countries)

AlbaniaAlgeriaAndorra
AngolaAntigua and BermudaArgentina
AustraliaAustriaBahrain
BangladeshBelarusBelgium
BeninBhutanBolivia
BosniaBrazilBulgaria
Burkina FasoCambodiaCanada
Cape VerdeCentral African RepublicChad
Chile (Nationalist)China (China P.R.)Columbia
ComorosCongo (Brazzaville)Costa Rica
Cote de voireCroatiaCuba
Czech RepublicDenmarkDjibouti
Dominican RepublicDRCEast Timor
EcuadorEgyptEl Salvador
Equatorial GuineaEstoniaFinland
FranceFrench GuyanaGabon
GeorgiaGermanyGreece
GreenlandGuatemalaGuinea
Guinea BissauHaitiHerzegovina
HondurasHong Kong (Holders of Hong Kong special administrative region)Hungary
IcelandIndiaIndonesia
IranIrelandIsrael
ItalyJapanJordan
KazakhstanKirghizstanKorea (South)
KuwaitLaosLatvia
LiberiaLiechtensteinLithuania
LuxembourgMacedoniaMadagascar
MaltaMarshall IslandsMauritania
MexicoMicronesiaMoldavia
MonacoMongoliaMontenegro
MoroccoMozambiqueMyanmar (Formerly Burma)
NepalNetherlandsNew Zealand
NicaraguaNigerNigeria
NorwayOmanPakistan
Palau Pacific IslesPanamaParaguay
PeruPhilippinesPoland
PortugalQatarRomania
RussiaRussiaSalvador
Sao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSerbia
SlovakiaSloveniaSouthern Sudan
SpainSri LankaSt. Christopher Cape
SudanSurinameSweden
SwitzerlandTaiwanThailand
Timor EastTogoTunisia
TurkeyTurkmenistanUAE
UkraineUnited KingdomUruguay
USAUzbekistanVatican City
VenezuelaVietnamYemen

Nationals Exempted from obtaining a Visa (category 1 Countries)

BarbadosMalawiSt. Vincent and the Grenadines
BelizeMalaysia (For less than 30 days stay)St.Kitts and Nevis
BotswanaMauritiusSt.Lucia
BruneiNamibiaSwaziland
BurundiNauruTanzania
CyprusNew GuineaThe Bahamas
DarussalamPapuaTobago
DominicaRwandaTonga
Fiji IslandSamoaTrinidad
GhanaSeychellesTuvalu
GrenadaSierra LeoneUganda
JamaicaSingaporeVanuatu
KiribatiSolomon IslandsZambia
LesothoSouth Africa (For less than 30 days stay)Zimbabwe

The Following Persons do not require a Visa to Enter Kenya.

  1. All persons whose passports are endorsed with valid Kenya re-entry passes or any other written authority in lieu of a re-entry pass.
  2. All passengers arriving and leaving by the same ship, and who do not leave the ship.
  3. All passengers in transit through Kenya arriving and leaving by the same aircraft or transferring to another aircraft and who do not leave the international transit lounges at the International Airports in Kenya.
  4. Holders of United Nations Organization Laissez-Passers whilst on official UN Business.
  5. Holders of African Union Laissez-Passers whilst on official A.U. business.
  6. Holders of African Development Bank Laissez-Passers, whilst on official A.D.B. business
  7. Holders of Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa Laissez-Passers, whilst on official ABEDA business.
  8. Holders of International Red Locust Control Organization for Central and Southern Africa Laissez-Passers, whilst on official I.R.L.C.O. business.
  9. Holders of Desert Locust Control Organization Laissez-Passers, whilst on official D.L.C.O. business.
  10. Holders of COMESA Laissez-Passers, whilst on official COMESA business. xi. Holders of International Monetary Fund and World Bank Laissez – Passers whilst on official IMF/World Bank Business.
  11. Holders of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Laissez- Passers whilst on official IGAD business.
  12. Holders of African Airlines Travel Association (IATA) Laissez- Passers whilst on official business.
  13. Holders of Environment Liaison Centre International (ELCI) Laissez-Passers whilst on official ELCI business.
  14. Holders of Union of Radio, Television Network of Africa (URTNA) Laissez- Passers whilst on official URTNA business.
  15. Holders of International Labor Organization (ILO) Laissez – Passers whilst on official ILO business.
  16. Holders of Preferential Trade Area/Common Market of East & Southern African Bank Laissez – Passers whilst on official PTA/COMESA business.
  17. Holders of European Union Laissez – Passers whilst on official European Union business.
  18. Holders of CIP (International Potato Centre) Laissez – Passers whilst on official CIP business.
  19. Holders of African Reinsurance Corporation (ARC) Laissez – Passers whilst on official ARC business.
  20. Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports from The Islamic Republic of Iran for a period not exceeding (30) Days stay.
  21. Holders of Diplomatic, Official, Special, and Service Passports, from The Republic of Turkey and members of their families holding valid Diplomatic, Official, Special, and Service Passports, while on Transit or Stay not exceeding ninety (90) days.
  22. Holders of Diplomatic, Official or Service Passports from the Federal Republic of Brazil for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days.
  23. Serving Members of the British Military (are exempted from visa formalities).
  24. The manifested crew of ships and aircraft passing through or stopping in Kenya for periods not exceeding seven (7) days in the case of air crew and fourteen (14) days for ship’s crew.
  25. Owners of private aircraft stopping over for refueling in Kenya and who do not leave the precincts of the airport.

The following can NOT make e-Visa applications on eCitizen. These Nationals of countries, classes and categories of persons require Referred Visas. The VISA applications are referred to the Director of Immigration services for processing and approval.

AfghanistanArmeniaAzerbaijan
CameroonDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea (Formerly North Korea)Eritrea
IraqKosovoLebanon
LibyaMaliPalestine
SenegalSomaliaSyria
Tajikistan  
  1. Applicants whom there is some local objections or doubt in the country where the application is made.
  2. Stateless persons or persons not holding valid passports or other travel documents issued by their own country of nationality including recognized refugee holders of the United Nations Refugee Travel Documents.
  3. Prohibited immigrants as enumerated under chapter 1, paragraph (e) of the Visa regulations. 

VISA requirements

As of January 1, 2021, travelers are required to obtain an electronic visa prior to arrival in Kenya. No more visas are issued on arrival in Kenya, nor in Kenyan representations. This e-Visa allows entry into the country once for a tourist or business stay of up to 90 days or a transit of up to 48 hours (1 night maximum). All nationalities are eligible, except 43 exempted from visa. The average time to obtain an e-Visa is 3 days for an urgent departure. Children under 16 years old are exempt from applying and will only need to present their identity papers.

 
 
 
 

What are the eligibility criteria for the Kenyan e-Visa?

 
 

1️⃣ Passport

Travellers must have a passport that is still valid at least 6 months after the date of entry into Kenya.

 

2️⃣ Visa pending

You do not need a Kenyan resident visa.

 

3️⃣ Situation

You do not need to be in Kenya at the moment with a valid visa, or with an extension to your visa.

 

4️⃣ Reason

The e-Visa is available for tourist, business or