KENYA INTRODUCES MANDATORY ONLINE VISA APPLICATIONS

No Visa – No Entry as Kenya launches new rules

01st July 2015

Come midnight tonight, 02nd of July 2015, do major changes in Kenya’s Visa policy come into place. Unlike in the past when many nationalities were able to get their Visa on arrival in Nairobi or Mombasa, will intending visitors now have to apply for an e-Visa in advance, with processing days taking as much as a week. Upon vehement intervention from tourism stakeholders has a grace period been extended but only for two months, during which tourists and business travelers arriving at one of the two international airports can still get their Visa on arrival but effective 01st of September will this dual modus operandum be scrapped and only the e-Visa process be available.

The new method was only announced a short while ago and has caught many travelers and in particular tour operators and travel agencies abroad unaware. Many destinations brochures will now need re-printing as in most are European visitors told they can get their Visa on arrival at a cost of US Dollars 50, payable in cash. No more under the new rules when the payment must be made by credit or debit card.

Starting from 2nd July 2015, the government of Kenya will introduce electronic visa application. Tourists wishing to visit Kenya need to apply as follows: Visit the electronic visa page at www.ecitizen.go.ke  Select Register as a Visitor As part of this process, you will receive a confirmation email that you need to click on to verify and confirm your registration At this point, you will be asked to UPLOAD A DIGITAL PASSPORT PHOTO (Maximum size 500 px by 500 px) Once logged in, select Department of Immigration Services Select Submit Application Select Kenyan Visa Select the type of visa (visitor) and read the instructions carefully Complete the application form – please note that incomplete applications will berejected and you will lose your processing fees You will need a scan of the main page of your passport (with your name, date of birth and other information) You will need to re-upload your passport photo Pay using your Visa card, MasterCard or other debit card Await your approval which will be sent to you by email. This could take up to 7days so ensure that you plan in advance Once you have received the email advising that your visa is approved, log back into your ecitizen account and download your visa. Print a copy of your visa to present to the immigration officer at your point of entry into Kenya Some things to remember: The visa process takes up to one week and must be completed in advance You will need a scan of your passport and passport photo Approval and issuance of the visa does not guarantee entry into Kenya Any form of business or employment on a visitor’s visa is an offence As the introduction of this visa process was only announced a few days ago, there is a two month grace period whereby visas can still be purchased on arrival. This grace period expires on 31 August 2015. Effective 01 September 2015, you will be denied boarding of your flight to Kenya or denied entry to Kenya if you do not have your printed copy of your e-visa with you. The new service goes live on 2nd July 2015.

It was not possible in the short period of time available to ascertain if the common East African tourist Visa, which presently allows entry into the three CoW countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya at a reduced cost of just 100 US Dollars, must now also be purchased in advance via e-Channels, as no such information was included in the regulations and guidelines published by the Kenyan immigration department.

Tourism stakeholders have sharply condemned the move, saying the week long processing period is excessive and prevents tourists taking a last minute decision to come to Kenya.

Last minute bookings, often at a significant rebate, are popular in Europe with passengers at times just turning up at the airport and in a game of potluck choosing from posters hang up by airlines or touroperators where to fly to, paying there and then and checking in for their flight.

Either did Kenyan officials not think of this segment of travelers, or perhaps rather not know about it and with the new rules basically sending out the message that last minute travelers are no longer welcome in Kenya will inevitably business be lost to more user friendly destinations for last minute bookers.

One source from Nairobi close to this ‘action’ admitted that this was aimed to keep undesirables out of Kenya, in particular to stem the potential rise in arrivals of radicals from the UK, who may wish to join terrorist organisations similar to what many have done with ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

‘You must understand that the threat level from that side has gone up and up. We need those days to vet applicants and compare data base information with some of our western partners. This way we hope to catch those with links to radical groups and can deny them entry. Right now they just come, pay their Visa fee and melt away. One British was killed a few weeks ago when together with Al Shabab operatives trying to attack our barracks in Lamu. Therefore, we had to act and close that open door which existed and which we believe was used by radicals to infiltrate us. Now that you say it will keep a lot of real tourists out of Kenya, this will have to be investigated. We have to see if the process can be made faster. Anyway, people who have been here as tourists before and now arrive under new rules will be captured in our data base and when they come back in the future, their application could be as fast as a day’.

Considering that the country is still reeling from the yoke of the only recently lifted harsh anti travel advisories, it is clear that there is now a raging argument between tourism operators to let tourists in as it has been while security services will argue that even with the risk of one radical slipping through the net that one is one too many.

When Burundi a few months ago, equally at short notice, also demanded Visa in advance instead of granting them on arrival, visitor numbers into Bujumbura all but collapsed, leaving an already struggling tourism industry reeling from the fallout and being pushed to the wall due to lack of tourism numbers and revenues.

Seriously speaking though, tourism stakeholders are now urged to communicate these changes to their agents and operators abroad to avoid situation where paid up travelers will be denied boarding for their flight to Kenya, still thinking they get their Visa on arrival and yet, come September, will those doors be closed for good.