Ruto’s visa-free entry policy worsens Kenya’s ranking

By Eunice WAWUDA

Kenya has been ranked at position 46 out of 54 in the latest Africa Visa Openness Index 2024.

The 2024 report compared how countries are open to citizens of various countries across the continent.

In the report released on Monday, November 25, Kenya had a score of 0.113 and was ranked behind Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Kenya only outscored Sudan, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, South Sudan, Egypt, Algeria and Cameroon.

The report detailed that Kenya’s ranking was majorly affected by the government’s policy which requires visitors to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in the visa-free policy initiated by President William Ruto.

“Kenya’s requiring of an ETA prior to travel for most travellers from other African countries lowered the score,” read the report in part.

“Kenya now requires an ETA ahead of travel, and only exempts EAC members (this privilege extends to Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, while at the time of writing, Somalia was not included in this list of exempt countries).

Further, the report highlighted that ETA was viewed as a form of visa by some travellers despite the benefits of time-saving among others.

“ETA lead times that undermine spontaneous travel, the need for confirmed itineraries and accommodation, can all serve as impediments to the free movement of people and undermine the inherent benefits that ETA systems potentially offer,” read part of the report.

Kenya implemented the visa-free policy alongside the ETA requirements in 2024.

Visitors are required to process an ETA at USD 30 (Ksh3,881) per traveller.

Spurce: Nairobi Leo