The government has officially gazetted new immigration rules exempting a wide range of individuals from the requirement to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) prior to entering the country.
In a notice dated May 30, 2025, Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen introduced the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations, 2025.
The new rules, made under Section 59 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, add Regulation 15G, which outlines categories of persons exempted from the eTA requirement.
The new regulation under the Seventeenth Schedule lists 34 categories of persons who can now travel to Kenya without first obtaining an eTA.
These include holders of Kenyan permanent residence, valid work permits and re-entry passes, as well as citizens from East African Community (EAC) partner states.
The EAC states include Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda for visits not exceeding 180 days.
Nationals from a number of other countries will also enjoy visa-free access for up to 90 days.
These are Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cyrus, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji Island, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malaysia, Maldives, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea.
Others are Union of Comoros, Samoa, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, St Kitts and Navis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Seychelles, The Bahamas, The Gambia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, The Republic of Congo (Brazaville), Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Additionally, citizens from countries like Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia are granted exemption for a period not exceeding 60 days.
Also under that category is Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles and Togo.
The exemption also covers transit passengers who do not leave the airport or ship during their layover, members of international flight and ship crews and owners of private aircraft stopping over for refueling.
Moreover, officials traveling on duty from numerous international and intergovernmental organisations are now exempt if they hold official laissez-passers.
The organisations include the United Nations, African Union, African Development Bank, World Bank and COMESA.
The laissez-passers is a secure e-travel document issued by the European Union for its representatives and staff members with an international outreach as well as their family members under certain conditions.
The same applies to personnel from regional institutions such as IGAD, ELCI and the African Airlines Travel Association.
The new regulations also provide exemptions for holders of diplomatic and service passports from countries such as Iran (for up to 30 days), Turkey, Brazil, India, and China, with stay durations varying from 30 to 90 days.
British military personnel serving in Kenya are also included in the exemption list.
