And now, the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services
says citizens from Ethiopia and five other countries will not be required to
pay the $30 per traveller charged when visitors apply to come to Kenya.
The fee is often paid online via the portal
www.etakenya.go.ke after the government launched the Electronic Travel
Authorisation (eTA) in January. According to the department, citizens from the
Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Eritrea, Mozambique, San Marino and South Africa
will also no longer be charged when filing for eTA applications.
The department said these are “countries which had concluded
visa abolitions agreement or signed bilateral visa waiver agreements with the
Republic of Kenya.”
The five had signed visa exemption deals in the last one
year. Their exemption from eTA began on February 15, Immigration said in
response to a Business Daily inquiry on Wednesday.
Bacha Debele, the Ethiopian Ambassador to Kenya had on
Monday told Ethiopian nationals wishing to travel to Kenya to file free
applications for ETA, which remains mandatory.
“My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Government of
Kenya for its prompt response and kind decision to remove Ethiopian citizens
from Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) related electronic payment
requirement,” he said.
“We kindly inform our citizens that they can enter Kenya
without any requirement for visa and its related payment, but the requirement
to fill eTA form online before arrival, remains mandatory.”
Ethiopia is among the earliest countries to sign visa
exemption pacts with Nairobi, with its agreements being in place for the last
five decades. But while Kenyans only need valid passports to travel to
Ethiopia, Ethiopians had been, for the last two months, required to pay $30 for
ETA applied for at least 72 hours before arrival.
The system has generated complaints, especially from
countries that routinely do not demand visas from Kenya. The new changes are
part of ongoing consultations with foreign partners to improve it, a source
told the Business Daily on Wednesday but gave no timelines on when the review
will be completed.
While it was launched to ease travel and visa application
processes, critics argued the $30 fee is a visa by another name.
Immigration said applications for eTA will still be pegged
72 hours before arrival.
“An Issued eTA is valid for travel to Kenya within 90 days
from the date of issue.”
However, it may face another question from critics who say
the eTA application is not flexible, especially if one adjusts travel times or
needs emergency travel.
As it is, East African Community member states will be
exempt from applying for ETA and can travel as long as they have valid
passports or national identification.
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