Ruto Announces More Changes To Visa & eTA Requirements

President William Ruto has announced that Kenya will update visa and electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) requirements for passengers arriving at the Port of Mombasa in a bid to boost tourism in the country, in line with recent modifications for international arrivals at the country's major airports, ensuring a consistent entry process for all travellers.

Speaking on Sunday, February 23 during the welcoming ceremony of the Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship at Mombasa Port which ferried over 2,000 tourists, Ruto announced that his administration was in the process of removing the complex paperwork which has typically discouraged tourists from visiting Kenya.

He stated that the new changes would primarily focus on visitors arriving in the country aboard cruise ships, whose numbers have surged in recent months.

The president also revealed that he had consulted with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) leadership, led by Captain William Ruto, and reached an agreement on implementing the revised process for approving visitors' documents.

President William Ruto hands gifts to the crew of the Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship at Mombasa Port on February 23, 2025. /PCS

At the same event, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir explained that the new policy would enable visitors to move freely across the country after a single clearance at the port. He stressed that once passengers were processed in Mombasa, they would not need to complete any additional paperwork.

"This is going to be a seamless approach on the visa where the shipping line will simply be providing a manifest of all the passengers to the ports authorities who will in turn process as a one-off," Nassir stated. 

The announcement came a month after Ruto's Cabinet proposed that Africans from 52 countries be exempted from the eTA system introduced last year. eTA system was introduced on January 1, 2024, and mandates all travellers, including infants and children, to obtain an approved eTA before commencing their journey to Kenya.

The Cabinet meeting, the first of 2025 and chaired by President William Ruto at State Lodge, Kakamega, approved recommendations to enhance the eTA system to boost efficiency and improve the traveller experience, with only Somalia and Libya exempted from the waiver.

"As part of efforts to support open skies policies and tourism growth, a key proposal is to grant eTA exemptions to all African countries—except Somalia and Libya—due to security concerns," the dispatch from Cabinet read in part, adding "This initiative aims to promote regional integration and ease travel across the continent."