The visa for Kenya is valid for 90 days from the date of issue. Within this validity period, you are allowed to travel to Kenya once and stay in the country for up to 90 days. On this page, you will find all the information related to the validity of the Kenya visa.

The e-visa for tourists and business travellers

There are multiple types of visas for Kenya. The single-entry e-visa for tourism and business trips is the most popular variant. This type is suited for the most common travel purposes and has a lengthy validity duration of 90 days. The visa therefore grants enough time to visit different places in Kenya. The application procedure is easily completed online using a digital application form. Are you unsure if the e-visa is suited for your trip? Read the page with the requirements for the Kenya visa.

Zebras in in the Kenyan savanna.

Validity duration for entering Kenya

The e-visa Kenya that can be applied for on this website has a validity duration of 90 days. This means that you are allowed to arrive in Kenya for 90 days from the date of issue. When applying for the visa, you therefore do not need to know the exact date of your trip. Are you arriving in Kenya more than 90 days after the visa was issued? Then the visa is no longer valid, and you are not allowed to enter the country.

However, it is still possible to apply for the visa more than 90 days before your arrival date. Based on the arrival date you fill in, the application will be put on hold if necessary, to ensure that your visa is valid during your trip to Kenya. Will you submit your application within 30 days of your departure to Kenya? Then the application will be processed immediately.

Are you applying for your visa more than 30 days before departure?
It is always recommended applying for your visa as early as possible. This also applies to the e-visa Kenya. To ensure that the validity duration of the visa does not expire when you travel, the application is sometimes put on hold. This happens based on the expected arrival date you fill in in the application form. The visa application will be automatically processed exactly 30 days before this date. The expected delivery time starts from that moment. This is on average 9 days. This way, you will receive your visa well in time, and you can be certain that you will not forget to submit your application at the right time.
Apply for your visa here

Maximum length of stay in Kenya

Like the validity duration, the maximum length of stay in Kenya is also 90 days. This means that you can spend up to 90 days in the country. When you arrive in Kenya, your passport will be stamped. The maximum length of stay of 90 days starts from that moment. The validity duration of your visa, which started when your visa was issued, is not taken into account. This means that it does not matter if you travel to Kenya on the first or last day of the validity duration of your visa; you can always stay the full 90 days.

An example with travel dates

Imagine you are applying for a visa for a trip to Kenya on 1 January. In the form, you fill in that you expect to arrive in Kenya on 31 May. Your application is automatically put on hold and processed exactly 30 days in advance, so on 1 May. On 8 May, your application is approved and you receive your visa. You are then allowed to arrive in Kenya between 8 May and 90 days after, which is 6 August. However, something changes in your plans, and instead of arriving on 31 May, you instead arrive in Kenya on 1 July. On arrival, an immigration officer stamps the date of arrival, 1 July, in your passport. You can then stay in Kenya for up to 90 days. This means that you must have left the country by 29 September. You are, of course, allowed to leave earlier.

The validity of your visa can expire earlier

Your visa for Kenya is only valid if you meet all the visa requirements. If you do not meet the requirements (any more), your visa is invalid. Pay special attention to the fact that your passport has to be valid for 6 more months on arrival in Kenya.

Do you want to stay in Kenya for longer than 90 days?

There are various possibilities to stay in Kenya for longer than 90 consecutive days:

• You can extend the maximal length of stay of your visa after arrival in Kenya.
• You can leave Kenya and apply for a new e-visa.
• You can opt for one of the other visa types, on which you can request more information via the Embassy of Kenya. However, the application procedure is often more complicated, and the processing times longer.