KENYA’S GRACE PERIOD FOR VISA ON ARRIVAL EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT
(Posted 31st August 2015)
At the stroke of midnight, when the date switches to 01st of September, will the grace period expire for Visa on arrival for visitors to Kenya.
Anyone arriving afterwards is now expected to have applied for an e-Visa as prescribed by Kenya’s changed immigration regulations and carry a printout to be presented at the various entry points, be it Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mombasa’s Moi International Airport or the land borders from Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania or Uganda.
Airlines were given the respective notices that this change will take place as of 01st of September and passengers intending to visit Kenya may be refused boarding unless they can produce an e-Visa.
Airlines the world over are extremely cautious when checking in passengers, ascertaining that travelers have their passports and Visa in order, as they otherwise risk hefty fines should passengers be refused entry and sent back, with some countries charging fines as high as 10.000 US Dollars for each such passenger.
There is presently no indication that Kenya may resort to such measures and for some time there were in fact suggestions circulating that the grace period be expanded, as there are continued complaints about the processing period and access to the website. While according to tourism stakeholders in Nairobi the handling of e-Visa applications has vastly improved since the launch of the website, have not all concerns be addressed and sections of the tourism industry are concerned that clients prone to last minute bookings may now shift to destinations where no Visa are required or Visa can be obtained on arrival.
Within East Africa are the contrasts also stark, as in particular for the countries of the Northern Corridor Integration member countries Uganda and Rwanda Visa are still available on arrival. There passengers in fact have the choice to either obtain a single Visa for the respective country or, and here the loophole is most visible, they can purchase an East African Common Tourist Visa at a cost of 100 US Dollars. Once this has been done will tourists be able to cross into Kenya under this Visa format, defeating the reasons which prompted the launch of the advance e-Visa requirements for Kenya.
Tanzania, also a member of the East African Community, equally continues to offer Visa on arrival to many nationalities, especially from countries where many tourists come from, leaving Kenya less competitive, something which may yet come to haunt plans for a full tourism recovery. Watch this space for further information as and when available on how Kenya will deal with such glaring disparities in coming days and weeks.
4 Responses
I have applied for evisa giving my departure date 01 11 2015. It has been paid for and received. It is dated from when I applied and expires before I depart! I am trying to get help but so fat have had none!
This exact same thing happened to me. I have emailed ecitizen multiple times but they won’t reply back to me.
I cannot believe their system would allow a person to order a visa when it would expire before their departure date.
We need Thor resolved ASAP as we leave in 6 weeks.
Visa are available once again on arrival as a subsequent article on my blog stated, when Kenya woke up to the stark reality that the country would lose business in a big way. I hope your problem was solved.
Enjoy Kenya, as and when and thanks for reading my blog.
W.
I have the exact situation and cannot get anyone to help me. I have emailed ecitizen multiple times and have not had any response. I cannot believe their system would allow you to order a visa knowing that it would expire before your departure date.