Kenya entry requirements: the eTA and everything else to check before you fly

The 30-second checklist

• A passport with at least six months left after the day you arrive, and two blank pages.
• An approved eTA for every traveller who needs one, babies included, saved on a phone and printed.
• Your flight details and where you are staying: the eTA form asks for both.
• A yellow fever certificate, if your route needs one.
• Gifts packed in reusable bags, not plastic carrier bags.
• For Kenyans: your Kenyan passport (no eTA needed), or, if you travel on another passport, an eTA for it plus your Kenyan ID.

Who needs an eTA, and who doesn't

The official rule is that every visitor, infants and children included, needs an approved eTA before the journey starts, unless they are exempt. The exemptions include:

• Kenyan citizens travelling on Kenyan passports.
• Citizens of six East African Community states: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Somalia, which joined the community in 2024, is not on the exempt list, so Somali citizens need an eTA.
• Citizens of a list of other countries, most of them in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
• Holders of Kenyan permanent residence, work permits and passes, and some passengers in transit.

Citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and most of Europe are not on the list, so they need an eTA. Check the current list on etakenya.go.ke before you fly, because it has changed more than once since the eTA began in January 2024.

Apply only on etakenya.go.ke

Lookalike websites copy the official design and charge more; Kenya's embassies have warned about them for years. Before you pay:

• Check the address: it must end in .go.ke. Type it yourself rather than clicking an advert.
• Expect no "service fee" or "handling fee" on top of the government's fee. The official FAQ gives the current fee, so don't trust a figure from anywhere else.

How to apply

• Have ready: each passport, a selfie or passport-style photo, an email address and phone number, your arrival and departure flights, your accommodation booking and a card to pay.
• Visiting family? The form may ask for an invitation letter from your host and a copy of their ID or passport.
• Apply separately for each person, including children.
• The official site says applications are generally processed within three working days, and offers a paid expedited option. Apply at least two weeks before you fly.
• Save the approval on your phone and print it. Without one, you can be refused boarding, or charged a penalty when you land.

An eTA is permission to travel, not a guarantee of entry: the immigration officer at the airport makes the final decision.

Families: children, spouses and Kenyan parents

• A child travelling on a foreign passport needs their own eTA, even a baby, even if both parents are Kenyan.
• Under Kenya's Constitution, a child with a Kenyan mother or father is a Kenyan citizen by birth, wherever they were born. With a Kenyan passport, they travel without an eTA. A first Kenyan passport is applied for through your nearest Kenyan embassy or high commission, with the child's authenticated birth certificate and the parents' Kenyan documents, so start months ahead.
• A spouse on a foreign passport needs an eTA unless their nationality is exempt.
• Check everyone's passport dates at the same time. Children's passports often expire sooner.

Our homecoming guide covers the rest of a family trip home.

Dual citizens

Kenya has allowed dual citizenship since 2010.

• If your Kenyan passport is valid, enter Kenya on it, and you don't need an eTA.
• If you travel only on a foreign passport, apply for an eTA on it: the published exemptions cover Kenyan citizens on Kenyan passports, not on foreign ones. Carry your Kenyan ID as well.
• US citizens must leave and re-enter the United States on a US passport, and British citizens need a British passport to return to the UK, so most dual citizens carry both.

Passports

The official eTA site asks for at least six months of validity and one blank page. The US and UK governments advise two blank pages, so allow two.

Health papers

Kenya requires a yellow fever certificate from travellers aged one or over arriving from a country with a risk of yellow fever, so tell the clinic every country on your route. Parts of Kenya have that risk too, so countries with the same rule, such as Tanzania, ask for a certificate if you arrive from Kenya. The vaccine is also usually recommended for travel to risk areas within Kenya. See a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you fly, and read the NHS guidance for Kenya.

Customs

• Single-use plastic carrier bags are banned. Duty-free bags must be left at the airport or on the plane before you get off.
• Declare gifts and goods you bring for someone else, and anything over the duty-free allowances, including electronics for family.
• Large sums of cash must be declared when you arrive and when you leave.
• Drones need approval before you travel. Shisha, skin-lightening creams and toy guns are banned. Carry medicines in their original packaging with your prescription.

Allowances and limits change, so check the Kenya Revenue Authority's passenger guide before you fly.

Transit and onward travel

In transit, you don't need an eTA if you stay inside the airport, whether you stay on the same plane or change to another. If you leave the airport, you do. Check the official site before you fly. Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda each have their own entry rules, so check those separately before you fly.

Before you land

Driving? The sister site explains driving with a foreign licence and the documents you need to hire a car. Coming home for the holidays? Its December homecoming checklist lists what to sort in October and November. Our first-timer's guide covers arrival at the airport, and Money in Kenya covers cards, cash and M-Pesa. Read our guide to getting around Kenya, or plan your trip with us.