How to Apply for a Kenya eTA in 2026: Requirements, Fees & Processing Time

What Is the Kenya eTA?

Kenya scrapped its traditional visa system and moved to an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Instead of standing in a visa-on-arrival queue, almost every visitor now secures travel authorization online before departure. You submit a short digital application, pay once, and receive an approval document with a QR code by email - which you show alongside your passport at immigration in Nairobi, Mombasa or any other entry point.

One important reset from the old visa era: there is no separate payment collected at the Kenyan border once your eTA is cleared. Everything is paid during the online application, so arrive with your approval ready and immigration is a matter of minutes.

Do You Need a Kenya eTA?

The eTA is required for nearly all international visitors, from holidaymakers to business travellers and cruise passengers. The main exception is the East African Community - citizens of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DR Congo holding valid national passports are exempt from the eTA requirement and pay no fees, reflecting free movement within the region.

If you're connecting through a Kenyan airport and will stay inside the transit area for less than 24 hours, a transit eTA covers your layover. If you plan to leave the airport - even just for a hotel sleep between flights - you need a regular eTA instead.

Choosing Your Categories: Tourism, Business, Transit or 5-Year

Kenya's eTA categories are purpose-based, but the fees and validity differ by category and nationality:

• Tourism (90 days, single entry): holidays, sightseeing, or visiting family in Kenya. The most popular category by a wide margin.
• Business (90 days, single entry): corporate meetings, conferences and commercial visits. Same fee as tourism.
• Transit (under 24 hours): for layovers where you exit the airport transit area.
• 5-Year multiple entry (US citizens): a reciprocity privilege for eligible US passport holders doing tourism or business repeatedly - one application covers five years of trips.

How Much Does the Kenya eTA Cost?

The published pricing, including the statutory government fee plus filing assistance when you apply through Vistoroute:

How Long Does Processing Take?

Kenya's Directorate of Immigration Services targets 3 business days (about 72 hours) for standard eTA review. A priority express queue exists for urgent departures and aims to return approvals in roughly 24 hours, provided your documents are clean.

Timing rules worth memorizing:

• Review happens Monday to Friday, Kenya time (EAT, UTC+3). A Friday-evening application formally enters review Monday morning.
• Apply at least 3-5 working days before departure on the standard queue - longer if you can, especially around Kenyan public holidays.
• Approval arrives by email as a document with a valid QR code. Keep a printed copy plus your phone copy.
• Don't book non-refundable flights until your eTA is approved. Airlines will ask for it at check-in, so also confirm your eTA matches your passport exactly.

Kenya eTA Requirements Checklist

Have these ready before you start - the application itself takes 15-20 minutes:

• Passport bio-page scan - a clear, uncropped color scan. Blurry or partially cropped scans are the single biggest cause of processing delays.
• A biometric-standard photo - recent, neutral expression, plain background, meeting the digital photo specifications (see the Kenya eTA photo requirements).
• Accommodation or host details - hotel booking confirmation, or the ID of the person you're staying with. Missing host information is a frequent officer-pause trigger.
• Return or onward travel details - your planned exit from Kenya.
• A valid payment card - the fee is paid online during the application, per applicant.
• Yellow fever certificate (if applicable) - travellers arriving from or transiting endemic countries may be asked for proof of vaccination at the border; see Kenya's health entry requirements.

Every traveller needs their own application - including infants and children traveling on their own passports, each paying the standard fee. For minors, incomplete birth certificates or missing parental consent documents can freeze processing, so prepare those in advance (see the guide on eTA for children and infants).

Step-by-Step: Applying for Your Kenya eTA

Step 1 - Open the application

Apply through Kenya's official eTA portal or a facilitation service like Vistoroute, which pre-checks your documents and guides your category choice before submission.

Step 2 - Select your category and fill in personal details

Pick tourism, business, transit or the 5-year option (US citizens). Then enter your details - and check your passport serial number character by character. Numbers transposed here are a classic self-inflicted delay.

Step 3 - Upload your documents

Bio-page scan and the digital photo, ensuring neither is blurry, cropped, or shadow-damaged. If you're staying with a friend or family member instead of a hotel, also upload their ID.

Step 4 - Pay and submit

Pay per applicant, once, during the application. The total covers government and assistance fees; nothing further is payable at the Kenyan border.

Step 5 - Receive your approval

Your eTA arrives by email, complete with a QR code. Print it and check each field against your passport before flying.

Step 6 - Arrive and present

Show the printed eTA with your passport at the immigration counter. Because payment and screening happened online, entry is fast - no cash counter, no stamping fee.

Common Kenya eTA Delays (and How to Dodge Them)

• Blurry or cropped passport scans - take a full, straight color scan rather than a phone photo of a passport corner.
• Photos failing biometric standards - shadows, uneven background, or glare on glasses will hold up review.
• Missing hotel confirmations or host IDs - attach accommodation evidence even if officials rarely later ask.
• Typos in passport numbers - verify twice, especially for passports you type from memory.
• Applying over a weekend and panicking - review only counts working days; the 72-hour clock starts on the next business morning.

Kenya eTA FAQs

How much does a Kenya eTA cost?
A standard single-entry eTA (tourism, business or transit, up to 90 days) totals USD 121 through Vistoroute: USD 38 government fee plus USD 83 document verification and filing assistance. Express handling adds USD 25. The 5-year multiple-entry option for US citizens totals USD 330.

Is the fee refunded if my application is rejected?
No - per Kenyan immigration rules, fees are non-refundable once submitted, even upon denial or itinerary cancellation. That's why document pre-checking is worthwhile.

Do children pay separately?
Yes. Every traveller, including newborns, needs an individual approved eTA and the standard fee applies per applicant.

Do I pay anything at Nairobi or Mombasa airport?
No. Once cleared and paid online, no further visa or immigration stamp fees apply at Kenyan checkpoints.

Can I stay longer than 90 days?
Extensions are handled case by case by Kenyan immigration. If you visit Kenya repeatedly rather than staying once for long, the 5-year multiple-entry eTA (US citizens) may be the better structure.

Is Kenya visa-free for people from East African countries?
Citizens of EAC member states - Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DR Congo - with valid national passports are exempt from the eTA and pay nothing.

How fast is the express option?
The priority queue targets roughly 24 hours turnaround versus the standard 3 business days (72 hours), assuming clean documents.

Can I transit without a Kenya eTA?
Staying inside the transit area under 24 hours qualifies for the lower-cost transit eTA; leaving the airport needs a standard eTA.