Tourists who want to visit Kenya need to have a legal visa. Also, your passport needs to be good for at least six months after the date you enter the country.

Starting January 1, 2024/2025, all people coming to Kenya from countries that need visas will have to apply for and get an e-visa before getting on a plane, because visas will not be given out when they arrive.

Electronic Kenyan visa application: As part of the visa application process, you must share a picture of yourself that is in your passport. About five days after you apply, your visa will be sent to you. To get into Kenya, you will need to print out a copy of your electronic visa and bring it with you along with your passport. If you need help or have questions about applying for an e-visa, please email evisa@immigration.go.ke or call the Kenyan Embassy in your country or area.

How to Apply for a Kenyan Visa:

Use evisa.go.ke to sign up. Those other sites are fake, this is the only real one.
Click on Sign Up as a Guest.
Once you are logged in, choose Department of Immigration services.
Click on “Submit Application.”
Choose a Kenyan visa.
Pick out the type of visa you want and carefully read the instructions.
After that, fill out the form.
You can use a Visa, Mastercard, or other bank card to pay.
After getting the approval email, get the E-Visa from your eCitizen account and print it out.
It takes two work days to process.
Print out your E-Visa and give it to the customs officer at the border.
Visa Fees as of January 5, 2024/2025:
One-time visa plus service fee: us$51.00
US$21.00 for transit entry visa and service fee
Free entry visa and service fee: us$0.00
US$101.00 for an East African tourist visa plus a service fee
US$101.00 for a multiple-entry visa and service fee
5 year visa with various entries and service fee: US$201.00
Coming soon: fast-tracked visa fees
Important Links: http://evisa.go.ke/eligibility.html for Eligibility and Exempted States
Types of visas and what they need: http://evisa.go.ke/evisa-types.html
E-visa Frequently Asked Questions: http://evisa.go.ke/evisa-faqs.html

How long the visa is good for:

Once you get your Kenyan e-visa, it’s good for three months before you leave. When you go through immigration control at the port of entry, you may be given a stay permit that lets you stay for up to 90 days. You can extend this permit for another 90 days at the immigration offices. A person can stay in Kenya for up to 6 months at a time.

Information related to applying for an e-visa:

Approval Time: The e-Visa can be granted in much less time than 48 hours, but it usually takes that long.

It will be looked into to make it available in different languages, but it could be hard for local immigration officers who don’t speak those languages.

Auto Save: Apps can now be saved automatically after the system has been updated. If the computer “hangs,” you can show the page again and then click on the “history” tab to see the saved data.

Payments: Visa and Mastercard are the only cards that can be used right now, but plans are being made to add American Express, Union Pay, PayPal, and Mpesa.

Important to remember is that when you pay, the system gives you a One Time Password (OTP) that you need to confirm with the cardholder. If you don’t enter this OTP, your card payment may be declined.

Language (in case something goes wrong)
Assistance with the application process is given on time.

Two special phone numbers and an email address that can be used to get help are flashed by the system:

For general questions, call +254 110 922 063 /4. For problems with payments, call +254 110 922 062. Email: evisa@immigration.go.ke
System Downtime: The E-visa system doesn’t have a lot of downtime, but every once in a while it has to be taken offline for an update.

During the downtime, a message will show that the system was offline for a change and how long it would take to finish.

Some other things you should remember about your visa are:

You will be given a landing card on the plane or at the visa desk when you arrive in Kenya, which you will need to fill out.
You will need to fill out an exit card, which will be given to you at the departure gate when you leave Kenya.