⚠️ Sensitive information — always check the official source
Visa requirements, quotas, amounts and dates change often. Every fact in this guide was checked against the official source on 2026-09-23 and we re-check it periodically, but before starting any procedure confirm the details on the official links (embassy, consulate or ministry) shown on this page. viajacongus.com does not process visas and does not replace official information.
💵 How much it costs
Official fee schedule published at etakenya.go.ke/eligibility, read on 23/09/2026: STANDARD eTA (single entry): US$ 30. TRANSIT eTA (for anyone passing through Kenya on a connecting flight): US$ 20. ONE-YEAR MULTI-ENTRY eTA: US$ 300. FIVE-YEAR MULTI-ENTRY eTA, for US nationals only: US$ 185. EAST AFRICAN TOURIST eTA: listed in the fee schedule with the label COMING SOON and no price. Separately there is expedited processing, which is not a category but an add-on: the official FAQ says «normal (processing may take up to 72 hours) starting at $30 and expedited (immediate processing) at an addition $100». One hundred dollars more, and processing is immediate. THE FEE IS NEVER REFUNDED. The Terms and Conditions contain the most important sentence in this whole procedure: «Your eTA application fee is non-refundable. Once you submit your eTA application, the fee is non-refundable, and you cannot transfer it to another person. This is also true if your eTA is denied or if for any reason, including a force majeure, there are deviations to your planned journey». And if you entered a detail wrong after submitting, you pay again: «If an applicant applied with mistakes, he or she might need to submit a new application. The associated fee will be charged for each new application submitted». AN OFFICIAL DISCREPANCY WE ARE DECLARING TO YOU: the Ninth Schedule of the regulations consolidated to 30/05/2025 that Kenya Law publishes still gives other figures —«(i) Transit Electronic Travel Authorisation fee US $ 20. (ii) Referral Electronic Travel Authorisation fee US $ 10 non-refundable. (iii) Ordinary/Single Journey Electronic Travel Authorisation fee US $ 50. (iv) Multiple Journey Electronic Travel Authorisation fee US $ 100. (v) East Africa Single Tourist Electronic Travel Authorisation US$ 100»—. What you will pay is what the portal shows, since that is the system that issues and charges. We note it so you are not surprised if you see the other amounts in a legal text.
⏳ How long it takes
Three official figures, all from the issuing body. The first, from the FAQ: «Applications are generally processed within three (3) business days/72 hours but may take longer depending on the verification processes. For urgent applications, expedited option is available and is processed immediately». The second, from the foot of the How to Apply page: «Processing time is typically three (3) working days, but it may take longer in some cases». And the third, which is the body's own recommendation and the one worth following, from General Information: «eTA applications for Kenya are usually processed in 3 days and there is an urgent processing service, however, it is recommended applications be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to travel to ensure adequate time for processing». Two weeks ahead. If you are short on time, there is the expedited option at 100 dollars extra with immediate processing, but we would rather you did not need it.
📅 How long it's valid
Here we have to separate three things that are not the same, and Kenya publishes only one of the three. (1) DAYS OF STAY: the eTA does NOT give you any. Neither the portal nor the regulations say how many days of stay it grants, because it grants none: you are given a visitor's pass at the border and the officer writes in the days. Section 30(3) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations sets the legal ceiling: the pass «shall permit the holder to enter Kenya within the period specified therein and to remain in Kenya for such period, not exceeding six months from the date of his entry into Kenya, as may be specified in that behalf». Section 30(4) allows it to be extended but keeps the cap: «the aggregate period of validity of a visitor's pass shall not exceed six months from the date of the holder's entry into Kenya». And 30(8) makes clear it cannot be requested in advance: «a visitor's pass shall not be issued in advance to persons intending to come to Kenya». Honest summary: the legal maximum is six months from entry, the specific number is decided by the officer at the counter, and there is no way to know it before you arrive. (2) WINDOW TO USE THE APPROVED eTA: NOT PUBLISHED. The portal does not say how many days you have to travel once it is approved. (3) ENTRIES: the standard one «allows entry into Kenya once», a single one. If you go out to Tanzania or Uganda and want to come back into Kenya, you need another eTA or the one-year multi-entry.
👤 Who needs it?
Everyone needs it, infants included. The portal opens with that sentence: «All visitors including infants and children who intend to travel to the Republic of Kenya must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) before the start of their journey». Kenya does not publish the list of who needs an eTA but the list of who is EXEMPT, which comes from the Seventeenth Schedule of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, inserted by Legal Notice 93/2025. We read that list entry by entry on 23/09/2026, on the official portal and in the consolidated legal text on Kenya Law, and the result is blunt: of our twenty-eight nationalities, ONLY ONE is exempt —GUYANA, for up to 90 days— and the other TWENTY-SEVEN need an eTA. To repeat: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Germany, Andorra, Australia and Denmark: all of them need an eTA. Two traps inside the exemption list. First: BRAZIL appears, but only for «Holders of Diplomatic, Official or Service Passports from the Federal Republic of Brazil for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days». With an ordinary Brazilian passport you still have to get the eTA, and that confusion leaves people stuck at the counter. Second: ANDORRA is not on it, although San Marino is. Also exempt are citizens of the partner states of the East African Community (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, for up to 180 days), holders of Kenyan permanent residence or a Kenyan work permit, and transit passengers who do not leave the airport precinct or the ship. Accredited diplomats DO have to complete the eTA, although they do not pay the standard fee.
