The government has announced receiving close to 10,000 applications for the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), even as the country transitions to visa-free entry.
Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok announced that out of the 9,787 applications received so far, 4,046 have been processed.
"So far 9787 ETA applications have been received on https://www.etakenya.go.ke. Of these, 4046 have already been processed while the others are undergoing review on priority basis guided by the travel schedule submitted by each applicant," Bitok stated.
Also Read:
According to Bitok, the introduction of ETA is premised on the need to have a fair, faster and reliable system that also addresses Kenya's security and other strategic interests.
Visa-free entry
Before ETA, citizens from 51 countries enjoyed visa-free entry to Kenya, while travellers from 155 other countries were subject to a visa application process for USD50 (Ksh7,700).
The entry requirements and applicable payments for all foreign nationals, except for East African Community (EAC) citizens, will now be the same irrespective of the country of origin, set at USD30 (Ksh4,600)
"Previously, travellers from 51 countries were not required to fill out any forms on personal and relevant travel details. There was therefore no means of obtaining data to inform critical decisions and plans around security, infrastructure and insurance needs. With the introduction of the ETA, we now have comprehensive data on all visitors, significantly improving our ability to ensure the safety and well-being of both our visitors and citizens," Bitok added.
Bitok says that compared to visa application, ETA provides for a simple and faster process.
"Previously, it took up to 14 days to process visa applications for foreigners from 12 listed countries. The waiting period for this category has now been drastically reduced to a maximum of 72 hours," he added.
"To guarantee a seamless experience, we have introduced a 24-hour service desk dedicated to ETA. This will ensure clients are promptly attended to irrespective of the hour while also taking into consideration the different time zones across the world."
This comes at a time when there have been complaints about the new system.
