News report | | 16-01-2023 | ±7 minutes reading time

Most travellers can easily apply for their visa online for a trip to Kenya. Travelling to Kenya without a visa is only possible for travellers who are exempted based on their nationality. However, this exemption only applies to several African countries, island nations and other small countries outside the European Union.

Applying for a visa for a trip to Kenya

Most travellers require a visa for a trip to Kenya. There are only a few exceptions to the visa requirement. Almost all travellers with the nationality of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or a country in the European Union can apply for the visa online. The online visa is suitable for a single trip to the country for a stay of up to 90 consecutive days for a holiday, family visit, or business trip.

Apply online for a Kenya visa now

Travellers from various countries cannot use the online application procedure and have to apply for a “Referred Visa” at the Kenya Embassy. In the next paragraph, you can read which travellers can apply for the visa online, which travellers have to apply for the visa at an embassy and which travellers do not require a visa for Kenya.

These travellers can apply for the visa online

Travellers from the UK and most European countries, such as Ireland, can apply for the Kenya visa online. Travellers from Cyprus and San Marino can travel to Kenya without a visa. Travellers from Kosovo and Armenia, however, have to apply for the visa at the embassy.

Travellers from these countries can apply for the e-visa
EU countriesNon EU countries
AustriaItalyAlbaniaMonaco
BelgiumLatviaAndorraMontenegro
BulgariaLithuaniaBelarusNorway
CroatiaLuxembourgBosnia-HerzegovinaSerbia
Czech RepublicMaltaIcelandSwitzerland
DenmarkNetherlandsGeorgiaTurkey
EstoniaPolandGreenlandUkraine
FinlandPortugalLichtensteinUnited Kingdom
France*RomaniaMoldovaVatican City
GermanySlovenia
GreeceSlovakia
HungarySpain
IrelandSweden

* Including oversees territories within the EU.

In most cases, travellers from outside Europe, can also apply for the Kenya visa online. There is a special arrangement for travellers of South African or Malaysian nationality. They can stay in Kenya for up to 30 days without a visa, but have to apply for an e-visa if they wish to stay longer.

Other nationalities who are eligible for the Kenya e-visa
AfricaThe Americas and CaribbeanAsia and Oceania
AlgeriaAnguillaAustraliaMyanmar
AngolaAntigua and BarbudaBahrainNepal
BeninArgentinaBangladeshNew Zealand
Burkina FasoBermudaBhutanOman
Cape VerdeBoliviaCambodiaPakistan
Central African Republic (CAR)BrazilChinaPalau
ChadCanadaHong Kong (SAR)Philippines
ComorosChileIndiaQatar
Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)ColombiaIranRussia
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC/Congo/Kinshasa)Costa RicaIsraelSaudi Arabia (KSA)
DjiboutiCubaJapanSouth Korea
EgyptDominican RepublicJordanSri Lanka
Equatorial GuineaEcuadorKazakhstanTaiwan
GabonEl SalvadorKirghiziaThailand
GuineaGuatemalaKuwaitTimor-Leste
Guinea-BissauGuyana (Cooperative Republic)LaosTurkey
Ivory Coast (Cote d’ Ivoire)HaitiMacau (SAR)Turkmenistan
MadagascarHondurasMalaysia (from 30 days)United Arab Emirates (UAE)
MaldivesMexicoMicronesiaUzbekistan
MauritaniaNicaraguaVietnam
MoroccoPanama
NigerParaguay
NigeriaPeru
RéunionSuriname
São Tomé and PrincipeTrinidad and Tobago
SudanUnited States of America
TogoUruguay
TunisiaVenezuela
Western Sahara
South Africa (from 30 days)

These travellers need a “Referred Visa”

Travellers from the following countries need a “Referred Visa” for a trip to Kenya. However, this visa can only be applied for through the Kenya Embassy with a so-called ‘Form-22’ procedure. For travellers with the nationality of Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Cameroon, Mali or Senegal, the situation is not entirely clear. Travellers from these countries are therefore recommended to ask the embassy how they can get a visa for Kenya.

Nationalities who are eligible for the “Referred Visa” for Kenya
AfghanistanKosovoSenegal
ArmeniaLebanonSomalia
AzerbaijanLibyaSyria
CameroonMaliTajikistan
EritreaNorth KoreaYemen
IraqPalestina

These travellers can travel to Kenya without a visa

Travellers from several African countries and a few smaller countries outside Africa, do not require a visa for a stay of up to 90 days in Kenya. This arrangement applies to the below African countries and various island nations, among others. Travellers from Cyprus and San Marina are also allowed to travel to Kenya without a visa.

African countries without visa requirement for a trip to Kenya
BotswanaMauritiusSouth Sudan
BurundiMozambiqueSwaziland
EthiopiaNamibiaTanzania
GambiaRwandaUganda
GhanaSeychellesZambia
LesothoSierra LeoneZimbabwe
MalawiSouth Africa (up to 30 days)

E-visa for your trip to Kenya

Are you eligible for the Kenya e-visa based on your nationality? If you also meet all the other requirements for the Kenya e-visa, then you can apply for this visa for your trip and in most cases stay in the country up to 90 consecutive days.

Please note: this news article about the visa for Kenya is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the visa for Kenya.

e-Visa.ie is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the Kenya visa. e-Visa.ie is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a visa directly with the immigration service (32,50 USD per visa, via www.etakenya.go.ke). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.ie, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 32,50 USD in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as € 34,13 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous Kenya visa was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.