Gov't lists new categories exempt from eTA requirement

Kenya has introduced new immigration regulations exempting several categories of travellers from the requirement to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) before entering the country.

In a notice dated May 30, 2025, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations, 2025.

The new rules, made under Section 59 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, include Regulation 15G, which lists the exempted categories in the Seventeenth Schedule.

The regulation exempts holders of Kenyan permanent residence, valid work permits and re-entry passes from the eTA requirement.

Citizens of East African Community member states, including Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, are also exempt for visits not exceeding 180 days.

Nationals from several other countries are allowed to enter Kenya without an eTA for up to 90 days.

These include Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cyprus, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malaysia, Maldives, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Union of Comoros, Samoa, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland and Seychelles.

Others are The Bahamas, The Gambia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Citizens of Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia will also enjoy the exemption for up to 60 days.

The same applies to those from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles and Togo.

Transit passengers who remain within the airport or ship during their layover are exempt as well.

The rule also applies to international flight and ship crew members and owners of private aircraft making short fuel stops.

Officials traveling on duty from global and regional organisations are exempted if they hold official laissez-passers.

These organisations include the United Nations, African Union, African Development Bank, World Bank, COMESA, IGAD, ELCI and the African Airlines Travel Association.

The laissez-passers is an official e-travel document issued to representatives and staff members of international organisations and, under certain conditions, to their families.