Kenya has exempted Ethiopians from paying the mandatory $30 fee required of foreigners seeking electronic travel authorization to Kenya.
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Bacha Debele Buta, announced that Ethiopian nationals can visit Kenya free of charge.
He, however, noted that those seeking approvals must fill in the mandatory Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) forms to enter the country.
“We kindly inform our citizens that they can enter into Kenya without any requirement for visa and its related payment, but the requirement to fill eTA form online before arrival, remains mandatory,” the ambassador posted on his X account.
The envoy thanked President William Ruto’s administration for the move.
“My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Government of Kenya for its prompt response and [the] kind decision to remove Ethiopian citizens from the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) related electronic payment requirement,” he stated on Monday.
An Ethiopia-Kenya Joint Ministerial Commission meeting began on Monday in Addis Ababa.
There have been concerns that the new system could negatively affect the age-old relationship between Nairobi and Addis Ababa.
Currently, citizens of both countries travel without the requirement of procuring a visa.
President Ruto announced Kenya’s transition to a “visa-free” arrangement on December 12, 2023, with the eTA requirement, applicable to all foreigners alike, taking effect on January 1, 2024.
The eTA protocol allows advanced identification and vetting.
The implementation of the new visa regime saw its first wave of foreign arrivals on January 5 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the Immigration Department had received 5,000 eTA applications at the time.
In support of this policy shift, the government made amendments to the Citizen and Immigration Regulations, 2023.
The Cabinet last week resolved to host four major International and regional conferences to support the visa-free policy.
In a Cabinet dispatch Wednesday, the cabinet endorsed hosting regional, continental, and global conventions.
“In affirming Nairobi’s status as the preeminent destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) and boosted by the recently implemented Visa-Free Regime in Kenya, the Cabinet considered and endorsed the hosting of regional, continental, and global conventions, meetings,” the dispatch read.
The conventions include the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly(UNEA-6) and the African Minerals Geosciences Centre (AMGC) Policy Organization Meeting and
Others are the Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (GIEC) events organized in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union and the Network of Africa Data Protection Authorities (NADPA) Conference, 2024.
