Do I need a visa for Kenya?
Kenya sets its own entry requirements and applies them by nationality. The answer also depends on why you are travelling. The rule for a holiday is often not the rule for work, study or a long stay, so check that the answer you are reading is the one for your trip.
Now pick the passport you travel on.
Entry rules by passport
Select your nationality for the full answer: stay length, passport validity, pre-registration and how to apply.
These links go to our partner Evisa Express. trip1 earns a commission if you apply through one, at no extra cost to you. You can always apply directly with the government instead.
Need a visa for Kenya?
Apply through our partner Evisa Express. Forms, fees and government submission are handled, with status updates until it is approved.
trip1 earns a commission if you apply through this link. It costs you nothing extra.
What to do next
The part most visa checkers leave out: what actually needs doing before you fly.
Confirm with the official source
Rules change without notice, and only the immigration authority of Kenya can tell you where you stand. Search for its official site before you travel.
Check your passport
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond your arrival date. Renew first if you are close, because this is the most common reason travellers are turned away.
Check the rule for your own passport
What Kenya asks for depends on the passport you travel on, and the table above differs from row to row. Open your nationality for the stay length, the validity required and whether anything has to be applied for.
Good to know about Kenya
East African neighbours run some shared arrangements, but they do not all cover the same countries. Check which states a regional permission actually includes before relying on one.
Common questions
Entry to Kenya, answered from the same rules the table shows.
It depends on the passport you hold. Of the 21 most-checked passports listed above, 3 enter Kenya without a visa, 18 have to apply for something before travelling. Find your nationality in the table for the exact rule, the stay it allows and what has to be applied for.
3 of the 21 most-checked passports listed above: Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt. The rest have to apply in advance.
It varies by passport — 60 days or 90 days across the visa-free rules in the table. The limit is per entry, so check the row for the passport you will actually travel on.
6 months. Renew before you travel if you are close to that, because it is one of the most common reasons travellers are refused boarding — by the airline, before they ever reach the border.
Not for any of the 21 most-checked passports listed above. Nationalities outside that list may still be offered one, so check the rule for the passport you hold.
Not for any of the 21 most-checked passports listed above. Nationalities outside that list may still have one available.
No separate arrival registration is listed for Kenya. Your airline may still ask for advance passenger information, which is not the same thing and is handled at check-in.
Once you are in Kenya
Where trip1 travellers go, and what to read before you book.
Travelling somewhere else?
Check any passport against any destination
