Kenya replaced its visa with an electronic travel authorization, the eTA, at the start of 2024, and it's still the quickest form in East Africa to fill in. One application per traveler, US$30, an approval PDF in your inbox within a few days. What's new in 2026 is a government insurance policy bolted onto the same application. Here's how it all works, what to have open before you start, and the handful of places people get stuck.
The short version. US passport holders need a Kenya eTA before they fly. Apply at etakenya.go.ke or in the official Kenya Travel Authorization app, pay US$30 by card plus Kenya's travel health insurance, and allow three business days. There's no visa on arrival any more. One eTA each, children included.
Use the official site, nothing else
Search "Kenya eTA" and you'll find a page of agencies charging US$50 to US$95 to type your details into the government form. The only site you need is the Directorate of Immigration's own portal, etakenya.go.ke. The address ends in .go.ke, the Kenyan government domain. The government also runs a free app called Kenya Travel Authorization, which is handy because it stores your approved eTA offline. Anything else is a middleman.
Cost and timing
The standard eTA starts at US$30 and the official FAQ says normal processing can take up to 72 hours, with a warning that it may take longer in some cases. An expedited option exists for an extra US$100 and is approved on the spot. You won't need it if you apply on time. You can lodge the application up to three months before you travel; we tell guests to do it two to three weeks out, once the flights and the first night's lodge are confirmed, so every detail on the form matches the trip.
Visa on arrival is gone. Airlines check for the eTA at check-in in the US and again at your connection, and they'll refuse to board you without it. The site is blunt about it: you may only travel once the Government of Kenya has approved the application.
The insurance Kenya now asks for
Since October 5, 2026 Kenya has required visitors to hold government-approved travel health insurance, and it's arranged through the eTA application itself: the portal takes you through it alongside the fee and shows the price before you pay. Reports since the rule began have gone back and forth on whether an overseas policy counts, so budget for Kenya's cover on top of your own. It doesn't replace your own travel insurance, which you should still have, with medical evacuation cover. If the portal asks you to upload proof of insurance instead, that's the same rule in a different form; send us a screenshot and we'll tell you what it wants.
Before you start
- Your passport, valid for at least six months past your arrival date, with at least one blank page.
- A clear photo of the passport photo page.
- A selfie or passport-style photo, plain background, no sunglasses or hat. A phone photo in daylight is fine.
- Your flight details in and out of Kenya, including the arrival airport.
- An accommodation booking confirmation. Your Kingse itinerary covers this; if the form wants a single document, we'll send you the confirmation for your first night.
- A credit or debit card, and an email address you check.
The application, step by step
- Apply Now. If you're traveling together, choose Apply as a Group. You enter each person's details once and pay in one go, and every traveler still gets their own eTA.
- Trip details. Purpose of travel is Tourism. Arrival is the day you land in Nairobi, not the day you leave the US; on the overnight flights that's usually the next calendar day, so check the ticket. The port of entry for almost all our Kenya safaris is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA, code NBO). Departure is your flight out of Kenya, even if that flight only goes as far as Kilimanjaro or Zanzibar.
- Passport and photo. Upload the photo page and your selfie. Type your name exactly as the passport prints it.
- Accommodation. Enter the first lodge or hotel on your itinerary with its town or park, for example "Hemingways Nairobi, Karen, Nairobi". You don't need to list every camp. If a box asks for a local contact number, use the first property's phone number from your itinerary.
- Health questions. If the form asks about a yellow fever certificate, that applies to travelers arriving from a yellow fever risk country. A flight from the US through Amsterdam, Paris, Doha or Istanbul isn't one; a Uganda-first trip is. Answer for your own routing.
- Insurance, pay and submit. Take the government travel health insurance when the portal offers it, then pay by card. You'll get one email confirming receipt and another with the decision. The approval comes as a PDF.
Save the PDF to your phone, add it to the app, and print one copy. It's checked at the airline desk in the US, at your connecting airport and at Kenyan immigration.
At the airport in Nairobi
Immigration at JKIA scans the eTA, takes fingerprints and a photo, and stamps you in. Allow an hour from the aircraft to the curb at busy times, and don't be surprised by health screening on the way through; airports across East Africa have run it on and off through 2026 because of the Ebola outbreak in the DRC. If you're flying straight on to the Masai Mara, that flight leaves from Wilson Airport across town, and your Kingse driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the transfer. The eTA isn't needed again for domestic flights, but keep your passport handy at park gates.
Kenya and Tanzania on one trip
Tanzania is a separate visa, always, and on a US passport it's the US$100 multiple-entry one. The East Africa Tourist Visa covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, not Tanzania. We route Kenya first and cross by the Migori to Tarime air bridge or via Kilimanjaro, and because Kenya is on the yellow fever risk list, Tanzania can ask for a yellow fever certificate from anyone arriving from Kenya, so that card travels with you. Our Tanzania visa guide walks through that form box by box, and our Kenya vs Tanzania comparison explains why the order matters.
Kenya with Uganda or Rwanda
The East Africa Tourist Visa costs US$100, covers all three countries for 90 days and lets you move between them freely. On a US passport the separate documents add up fast: Kenya eTA US$30, Uganda eVisa US$50, and Rwanda US$50 at the border. For all three countries the joint visa is cheaper; for Kenya plus one neighbor on a one-way trip, the separate documents are. You apply for the joint visa through the first country you enter, and your first entry has to be through that country. We'll tell you which way is cheaper for your routing.
Vaccinations and health
Kenya asks for a yellow fever certificate only from travelers arriving from a country with yellow fever risk. Uganda is one, so a Uganda-first trip means carrying the card into Kenya. The CDC separately recommends the vaccine for most of Kenya, the Masai Mara included, so expect your travel clinic to raise it. Whether to have it, and what to do about malaria, is a conversation for a travel doctor with your full itinerary in front of them, around eight weeks before you fly. We point you at the official sources and don't give health advice: read the CDC's Kenya page, which carries its current health notices, and the State Department's latest advice for Kenya before you book, because both change.
Quick answers
Do US citizens need a visa for Kenya?
Yes, in the form of an electronic travel authorization, the eTA, applied for online at etakenya.go.ke before you travel. There is no visa on arrival in Kenya any more.
How much does the Kenya eTA cost?
US$30 for standard processing, paid by card on the official site, plus Kenya's government travel health insurance, bought through the same application. An expedited option costs an extra US$100 and is approved immediately; you won't need it if you apply a couple of weeks ahead.
How long does the Kenya eTA take?
The official site says up to three business days, with a warning that checks can take longer. Apply two to three weeks before you fly, once your flights and first night are confirmed.
Do I need travel insurance to enter Kenya?
Yes. Since October 5, 2026 Kenya requires visitors to hold government-approved travel health insurance, arranged through the eTA application itself, on top of your own travel insurance.
Does the Kenya eTA cover Tanzania or Zanzibar?
No. Tanzania is always its own visa, and the East Africa Tourist Visa does not include Tanzania either.
Do children need their own Kenya eTA?
Yes. Every traveler needs an eTA, children included. Use the Apply as a Group option so the whole family goes through in one application and one payment.
Can I use an agency to get my Kenya eTA?
You can, but you'll pay two or three times the fee for someone to type your details into the same government form. Use etakenya.go.ke or the official Kenya Travel Authorization app.
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