Kenya goes virtual with its Visa application and issuing processing

Kenya recently decided to change its visa scheme. The country has now gone virtual in terms of issuing visas to applicants who wish to enter the Kenyan territory. This was declared on the 1^st of September this year. Applicants cannot take their visa after entering Kenya any more. The application for a visa must be made online. Similar is the case with the payment of the fee.

The origin of the idea

The above mentioned scheme was initiated by the Kenyan Department of Immigration Services by creating an online portal for this purpose on the 1st of July. It was initiated by the department as a pilot project for a limited period of two months. It was also decided that the opportunity to avail visas on arrival at the country will be extended until the last day of August.

The new rules

The new scheme makes visa application, an extremely simple task. To apply for a tourist or a transit visa virtually, one must first register at the official website of the department. The website is www.ecitizen.go.ke. The next step in the process of your application is uploading your latest passport size photograph.

The above step must be followed by making the payment for the online application. The fee of applying for a visa in this category, varies slightly depending on the type of visa being applied for. In case of a single entry visa, an applicant must make a payment of 51 dollars. Coming to the transit visa one must pay 21 dollars.

The final result

Since it is entirely a virtual process, the processing will be done online and an approved application will be sent to your valid email address. The application so received is required to be printed by the applicant which later must be submitted to the immigration officer on arrival in the country.

One is also required to show this approved visa application at the time of checking in.