Kenya Passport Jumps Up 6 Places One Week After Visa-Free Launch

Kenya's passport in 2024 was ranked the 67th most powerful in the world, a climb from position 73 in 2023, allowing holders to travel to 76 countries without a visa.

The latest global passport rankings were released on Wednesday, January 10 by Henley & Partners, a citizenship and planning firm, through its passport index which compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations.

If no visa is required, then a score with value = 1 is created for that passport. The same applies if one can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.

Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder has to obtain a government-approved electronic visa (e-Visa) before departure, a score with value = 0 is assigned. This also applies if one needs pre-departure government approval for a visa on arrival.

The total score for each passport is equal to the number of destinations for which no visa is required (value = 1).

Kenya's passport however did not move places as other African passports fell one or three places. It tied with Malawi at the same position.

It still held more power over its neighbours as Tanzania came in at 69th place, while Uganda and Rwanda were slotted at 73rd and 76th positions respectively.

The Seychelles passport is the most powerful in Africa at number 26, followed by Mauritius (30), South Africa (53), Namibia, and Lesotho at 65, as well as Eswatini (66).

Mauritius, which had maintained its top position on the continent, fell one rank down from 30th to 29th passport, showing that holders can visit 148 countries visa-free.

South Africa’s passport also fell two places from 51st place globally in July 2023 to 53rd. Lesotho dropped from 64th to 65th, Namibia from 62nd to 65th place and Malawi from 68th to 67th place.

The strongest passports globally included those of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain, whose citizens can travel to 194 countries globally without the need to apply for visas.

Kenya was also ranked the most open country globally together with Burundi, Cape Verde Islands, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Maldives, Mozambique and Rwanda among others who scored 198 out of a total openness score of 198.

The Henley Openness Index ranks all 199 countries and territories worldwide according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa using data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The rankings come a week after the launch of the visa-free regime following President William Ruto's announcement that visitors from around the world will enter Kenya without having to apply for a visa, a historic directive in the country's 60-year history.

The Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) was launched in place of the visas, which will instead be used to facilitate entry into the country for foreign travellers.

The ETA fee is currently capped at Ksh4,653.65 ($30) compared to the visa fee which was Ksh7,756.08 ($50)