Provided by Alpha Travel (UK) Ltd: alpha@alphauk.co.uk
Manual Visas still possible
The Kenyan Government accepts that their e-visa system still has some issues to work out. Until these have been resolved and fully tested, travelers will still be able to get visas on arrival and nobody will be denied boarding on flights to Kenya for not having a visa.
New Dedicated Website
The new website will now take you to a section only applicable to visa applications. The link to this site is http://evisa.go.ke.
Speed of Approval
The applications are now approved within 24 hours. All efforts will be made to move towards real-time approval to cater for the “last-minute” travelers as well as charter operations which both require quick approvals.
Photos
The difficulty with uploading the required photos had been cited as a concern and the system will now accept photos taken and uploaded from a mobile phone.
Payment
It was clarified that the E-Visa system at present only accepts Debit or Pre-Paid Cards. It does NOT accept Credit cards. This matter is still under consideration but at present, a debit card must be used.
Application by Agents/Tour Operators
There seems to be some confusion regarding agents and tour operators applying on behalf of their clients. there is not a separate application or section that you complete stating you are completing the application on the travellers’ behalf. You simply complete the application for them as if you were the traveller.
Application period for Visas
The visa is valid for 90 days from the date of approval and not from the date of arrival in Kenya. A number of visitors have already applied for and received visa approval even though they are expected to arrive in November 2015 (after the expiry date). The improved E-visa system will automatically reject any visa applications whose date of arrival is outside the validity period.
Key Issues
For visitors requiring to enter Kenya twice from outside East Africa, a facility to apply for “double entry (not the multiple visa) will be added to the E-Visa website. This is not done yet.
For visitors re-entering Kenya from within East Africa (such as people who travel in Kenya, then on to Tanzania and return to Kenya for their flight home), you only need to apply for a single entry visa. As has always been the case, travellers may leave Kenya to go to other East African Community countries (Tanzania including Zanzibar, Rwanda and Uganda) and return on the same single entry visa. You will still need to get separate visas for these other countries unless you get an East African visa which can only be applied for on arrival.
