ETA or Visa? Kenya’s New Entry Requirement Stirs Debate

Kenya’s recently implemented eVisa system ‘ETA’ has sparked heated controversy. Their recent decision to offer visa waivers to all foreigners is met with displeasure.

According to the ETA system announced by Kenya, all global travelers must obtain an ETA by submitting documents and paying a processing fee of $34 before entering Kenya. This includes children under 16 who could previously enter the country visa-free.

After the announcement of Kenya’s ETA system, people across the continent expressed their discontent through social media, saying the new policy has caused confusion and made traveling to Kenya more difficult and expensive. Comments ranged from “citizens of countries that previously enjoyed unrestricted access to Kenya now have to pay” to “It’s not right that 2-3-year-olds have to pay the same cost,” and “They’re introducing a new system to collect more money from tourists in exchange for allowing visa-free entry.”

Immigration lawyer Davis Nyagah stated, “If you look closely, you can see that it’s a system introduced by the Kenyan government to collect more money.” He argued, “It’s not visa exemption, but rather a visa with a different name, ETA.”

The Kenyan government responded, “We introduced the ETA system to manage many people more efficiently. While it originally took 72 hours to issue a visa, an ETA can be issued within 24 hours, saving time.”

Meanwhile, with the mandatory issuance of ETAs in Kenya, there has been an increase in fraud cases of fake ETA issuance sites targeting tourists. The Kenyan Embassy in South Korea released a statement saying, “ETA can only be applied through the Kenyan Electronic Travel Authorization website (www.etakenya.go.kr). Beware of similar sites.”