Like Benin, Kenya will soon no longer require entry visas for Africans

The President of Kenya, William Ruto, announced on Saturday in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, the end of entry visas into his country by the end of the current year for African nationals.

In order to increase trade and foster closer economic ties with other African nations, the Kenyan visa requirement for all African visitors will be removed by the end of 2023, the country’s President said. of his opening speech at the Three Forest Basins Summit in Brazzaville, Congo. “By the end of the year, no African will need a visa to enter Kenya. The time has come to understand the importance of trade between us”said William Ruto, whose speech was broadcast by the Kenyan media.

A procedure in progress

On October 21, the Kenyan presidency announced that it had removed the visa requirement for Angolan citizens. At the beginning of February, Kenya and Eritrea reached an agreement to permanently remove visa requirements for their citizens.

In July, Kenya extended this privilege to nationals of Comoros and Senegal, allowing them to enter the country without a visa. In August, Indonesia joined the list, becoming the third country in the space of a month to benefit from visa-free access to Kenya.

These measures align with one of the directives of the African Union which has advocated the abolition of visas within the continent for around ten years. A directive that is struggling to be executed despite numerous regional agreements and bilateral conventions to this effect. Currently on the continent only Seychelles, Gambia and Benin open their borders to all African nationals with visa exemption on entry, according to a 2022 report supported by the AU.