Ethiopians now eligible for visa-free entry to Kenya

Kenya will scrap the requirement for a visa and related payments for Ethiopian citizens but says they must fill out the form for Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) online before arrival.

Ethiopian envoy to Kenya Bacha Debele announced this via X on Monday, following the reignition of the two nation's Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after a seven-year break.

"We kindly inform our citizens that they can enter Kenya without any requirement for a visa and its related payment, but the requirement to fill ETA form online before arrival, remains mandatory," he said.

"My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Government of Kenya for its prompt response and kind decision to remove Ethiopian citizens from the ETA-related electronic payment requirement."

The ETA, which costs $30 and takes up to three days to process, covers a single entry and is valid for 90 days. Effected on January 5, 2024, it mandates all travellers except East Africans, to apply for and pay for the single entry 72 hours before journeying to Kenya.

Before Kenya introduced the ETA, Ethiopians were exempted from paying visa fees on a reciprocal basis. With this development, it is likely that other countries offering visa-free entry to Kenyans will follow suit, or will request for the same.

Fesseha Shawul, Ethiopia’s Director-General of African Affairs at the Foreign ministry, speaks at the Kenya-Ethiopia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2024. (Photo: Ethiopia Foreign Affairs ministry)

Fesseha Shawul, Ethiopia’s Director-General of African Affairs at the Foreign ministry, who is hosting Kenyan officials at the 36th JMC meeting, said its resumption will help strengthen bilateral relations between Addis Ababa and Nairobi.

“In the past, this commission has helped to resolve outstanding bilateral and regional issues while also improving each country’s political economic and social interaction,” Fesseha told the meeting.

Kenya's Bilateral and Political Affairs director-general, Moi Lemoshira, at the Kenya-Ethiopia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2024. (Photo: Ethiopia Foreign Affairs ministry)

The Kenya delegation is headed by Ambassador Moi Lemoshira, the Bilateral and Political Affairs director-general.

“Ethiopia and Kenya's relationship has been long-standing and positive. The resumption of the Joint Ministerial Commission will bolster this long-standing relation and benefit us both," he said.

Discussion will focus on key areas of cooperation between Ethiopia and Kenya including the ambitious Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPPSET), which will give land-locked Ethiopia access to the sea at Lamu.

(R to L) Ethiopian envoy to Kenya Bacha Debele, Ethiopian Director-General of African Affairs Fesseha Shawul, Kenyan Bilateral and Political Affairs director-general Moi Lemoshira and Kenyan Assistant Director of the State Department for Foreign Affairs Ali Mambo during the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2024. (Photo: X/ Ethiopia Foreign Affairs ministry)

According to an Ethiopian Foreign Affairs ministry official, who did not want to be named, the three-day meeting will also discuss border and regional security, immigration, energy and infrastructure, with an agreement to be signed on Wednesday.

A recent trade ties success story is Safaricom Ethiopia, a subsidiary of Kenya’s biggest telecommunication company, Safaricom, which was launched two years ago as the first foreign company to be granted a telecommunication licence.

President William Ruto has exhibited a zeal to improve Kenya’s ties to Addis Ababa, especially in the technology sector, with Safaricom's entry into the 120 million-people market.

Kenya’s export to Ethiopia rose to $90.22 million in 2022 according to United Nations COMTRADE database, indicating a significant rise since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office and introduced trade liberalisation policies that have benefited Nairobi.