Kenya has been ranked near the bottom among countries that provide visa-free access to other African countries.
This is according to the Africa Visa Openness Index 2024 which measures the extent to which each African country is open to visitors from other African countries.
Kenya was ranked 46th out of 54 countries in the index, having a 0.113 score.
In comparison to other East African countries, Kenya had a less than stellar ranking, with Tanzania and Uganda emerging 20th and 26th respectively.
Ethiopia had an impressive 0.732 score and was ranked 19th while Somalia emerged 17th.
According to the report, Uganda and Tanzania improved in rankings after easing access to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia respectively.
On the other hand, Kenya’s recent visa changes, prompting travellers to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) hurt the ranking.
Following President William Ruto’s announcement of abolishing visa requirements for its visitors, the State introduced an ETA to identify travellers as they enter Kenyan soil. East African countries were, however, exempted from this provision.
“Kenya’s requiring of an ETA prior to travel for most travellers from other African countries lowered the score, notwithstanding exemptions for EAC Member States,” the report read in part.
Over the period 2016 to 2024, five countries had the most improved scores in the rankings; Benin (from rank 31 to 1), Ethiopia (from 46 to 19), Sierra Leone (from 32 to 13), Nigeria (from 25 to 6) and Gambia (from 18 to 1).
Four countries tied in the first position, scoring a perfect 1.0 index. These include Benin, Seychelles, Gambia and Rwanda.
Introduced in early 2024, the government directed travellers to pay at least Ksh.4,000 per traveller fee when applying to come to Kenya.
This, however, elicited complaints from other African countries that don’t require visas from Kenya.
According to the State, the system is meant to streamline the entry process for visitors and thus reduce queues at immigration and health checks upon arrival.
