If your trip involves a transit or stopover in Kenya, find out if you will need a transit visa in the country.
Some travellers bound for several countries around the world find that their flight transits Kenya. As Kenya requires a visa for entry, these travellers may wonder whether they will also need a transit visa to transit Kenya. This article provides the answer to this question, as well as the procedure for obtaining such a visa.
Kenya transit visa: key points
- A visa is required even for simple transit through a Kenyan airport.
- This is a specific visa called a "transit visa", which is valid for a few hours.
- If you are travelling through Kenya on the outward and return journeys, you will need to apply for two separate visas
- To leave the airport and visit Kenya while in transit, you will need a tourist visa.
If your trip involves transit through Kenya, and you plan to leave the airport, you will of course need to have a valid visa with you.
Of course, this will not be a classic tourist visa allowing you to stay for a longer period of time in the country, but simply a visa allowing you to transit and which will be valid for a few hours.
Note, however, that if your trip involves transit through Kenya on both the outward and return journeys and the two journeys are more than 72 hours apart, you will need to apply for two transit visas for Kenya before your departure.
When transiting Kenya, you can apply for a specific type of visa called simply a transit visa. This visa will be required for travellers who are only transiting the country on their way to another destination.
It should be noted, however, that the transit visa is most useful if you wish to leave Nairobi airport on arrival. If you are simply stopping over in Kenya, you will not need this visa, which is only required to leave the airport.
In particular, it is recommended that you apply for a Kenyan transit visa if you wish to travel to Tanzania via the shuttle bus service from Nairobi airport.
The transit visa for Kenya is valid for a maximum of 72 hours or 3 days. After 3 days, the visa expires and it is necessary to reapply to transit the country.
So, if you want to spend more than 3 days in Kenya, you need to apply for a regular tourist visa which is valid for 90 days.
Let's look at the case of a simple stopover in Kenya. It is possible that you are travelling to another country and that your flight has a stopover in Kenya without you having to leave the airport.
In this case, if you do not leave the international zone at the airport, you will not need to present a visa during your stopover in Kenya. A visa is only necessary if you actually want to enter Kenya, i.e. if you are leaving the international zone and therefore the airport.
As we have just seen, you will be required to carry a transit visa if your trip involves transit through Kenya and you will need to leave the airport. More simply, you will also need to apply for a transit visa if you wish to take advantage of this transit to visit the area around the airport where your flight will land.
Like the Kenya tourist visa, the transit visa can be applied for directly online via the official website or the website of an approved provider. Once on the website, choose the type of visa you are interested in and simply fill in an online form with your personal details and some information about your trip.
You must, of course, quote your passport number and pay the fee for processing your visa application. These fees can be paid directly online, by credit card and on a secure server.
Your Kenya transit visa will then be sent to you within approximately one week directly to your home address by post. Simply take it with you and present it when you board your flight to Kenya or if you wish to leave Kenya airport.
British nationals transiting through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, do not usually need a visa if they do not leave the international area of the airport and remain in the transit area. However, it is always advisable to check visa requirements for transits with the relevant Kenyan authorities before planning your trip, especially if you plan to leave the international area of the airport.
It is also important to note that visa requirements may vary depending on the length of your transit and the final destination of your trip. It is therefore always advisable to consult the relevant Kenyan authorities or a travel advisor for more information on visa requirements for transits in Nairobi.
If you wish to leave the airport, you can of course apply for a transit visa through Nairobi airport directly online, either through an official website or through a website that offers an English form suitable for this specific type of application.
Adeline HARMANT
As a web writer and globetrotter with a passion for travel and tourism, I have acquired in-depth knowledge of the procedures that are essential for travellers. I help travellers to complete all the formalities required for a successful trip, particularly when it comes to obtaining a visa online. With several years' experience in this field, I'd like to offer you some valuable advice to help you discover the world with complete peace of mind.
As the transit visa will only allow you to stay in Kenya for 72 hours, or 3 consecutive days, the price of the visa will of course be lower than a regular tourist visa. However, the price of the transit visa may vary from one site to another and we recommend that you choose carefully the service provider through which you will apply for this visa in order to pay a reasonable fee.
There is a difference between a stopover and a transit in terms of visa requirements. A stopover may be a simple stop of your aircraft in a Kenyan airport or a change of flight in the airport, without leaving the international zone, whereas a transit may require an exit from the airport and therefore an entry into Kenya. A visa will therefore only be required for a transit and not for a stopover.
In the same way as for the tourist visa, the transit visa for Kenya will only be compulsory for minors from the age of 16. Minors under the age of 16 are indeed exempt from visas for this country but must have their own individual passport.
