Kenya entry requirements: prepare before departure

Recheck the rules before you travel

Entry rules can change. Recheck official requirements before travel, including any transit-country rules and airline document checks.

This page is practical preparation guidance, not legal advice or a decision on your eligibility to enter Kenya. Requirements depend on nationality, passport type, immigration status and routing. Living in the US or UK does not necessarily mean the rules for a US or British passport apply to you.

Use the official Kenya eTA portal for the application and eligibility checks. For a passport or status question the portal does not resolve, consult Kenya’s immigration authorities or the relevant Kenyan diplomatic mission.

Check your passport first

Kenya’s eTA application checklist requires a passport valid for at least six months after your arrival, with at least one blank page. UK government guidance for British passport holders specifies at least two blank pages. Plan with two available, and resolve any uncertainty about your own document before booking non-changeable travel.

Make sure the passport details used for your application and travel booking are accurate. If you renew or replace the passport after applying, check the official process before travelling; do not assume an authorisation linked to the old document covers the new one.

Travellers using temporary, emergency or other non-standard documents should obtain advice specific to that document. The requirements for an ordinary passport should not be assumed to apply.

Understand the current eTA system

Kenya uses an electronic travel authorisation system, known as eTA. Ordinary US and British tourist passport holders generally need an approved eTA before travelling unless a specific exemption applies.

Exemptions exist for certain nationalities and immigration statuses, including some eligible residents and permit holders. Airside transit can also be treated differently. Check the current official eligibility rules rather than relying on an old visa guide or a general “visa-free” description.

Official Kenyan guidance includes infants and children in the application requirement unless they qualify for an exemption. Do not assume a child is exempt merely because they are under 16. Check each traveller individually.

Apply with time to resolve a query

Once your flight and accommodation details are sufficiently established, prepare the information requested by the official portal. This normally includes:

• The passport you will travel on and a photograph or selfie meeting the portal’s instructions.
• Contact details and an email address you can access.
• Arrival and departure travel details, including return or onward travel information.
• Accommodation confirmation and any additional documents requested for your circumstances.

Apply at least two weeks before departure as a practical planning allowance, consistent with the official eTA guidance and UK travel advice. Applications can take longer than the usual processing period; no published standard time should be treated as guaranteed approval.

Save the approval and supporting travel documents where you can access them offline, and carry them with your passport. An application receipt alone is not an approved authorisation.

Travelling with children

Every child’s passport and entry status need checking. Also check the documents required by your departure country, any transit country and the airline, especially when a child travels with one parent, with another adult or without a parent.

For US families, State Department guidance advises carrying evidence of the parent–child relationship, such as a birth certificate, and checking consent or custody documentation where relevant. Do not leave a surname difference, sole-custody arrangement or absent-parent consent question until check-in.

Tell us the children’s ages for the safari arrangements. Entry-document decisions remain with the relevant authorities; a child’s accommodation or airline discount does not establish an entry exemption.

Transit and regional combinations

A connection that stays airside may qualify for a different entry treatment from a stop that takes you through immigration. Collecting and rechecking baggage, an overnight stay outside the airport or a transfer between JKIA and Wilson can involve entering Kenya.

Check the actual ticket and baggage arrangement with the airline. If your journey leaves Kenya and returns, confirm that your authorisation or exemption covers the return entry. Permission to enter another East African country does not, by itself, establish permission to enter Kenya.

Our transport planning guide explains the practical difference between arrival transfers, airport changes and onward safari flights.

Yellow-fever documents are a separate check

A yellow-fever vaccination certificate is required under the published rule for travellers aged one year or older arriving from a country with yellow-fever transmission risk. The full route matters, including relevant connections and previous stops.

This is different from whether vaccination is recommended for your health on the safari itself. Ask a qualified travel-health professional to review your itinerary and check the current entry rule with the official authorities. Do not assume that a direct journey from the US or UK and a journey via another country have identical certificate requirements.

Read health and insurance guidance for that distinction. Recheck any additional official health-screening instructions closer to departure.

Keep the travel and booking documents together

Before departure, have your passport, applicable entry approval, flight details, accommodation information, insurance details and any required certificates accessible. Check that names and dates agree across the documents.

Magical Exploits can clarify the itinerary and accommodation details for your application. The application decision and permission to enter remain with the authorities. For how your safari arrangements become confirmed, see Booking Information.