{"id":7784,"date":"2025-07-17T12:36:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T12:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=7784"},"modified":"2025-07-17T12:36:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T12:36:56","slug":"kenya-scraps-visas-for-africans-zimbabweans-benefit-from-eta-removal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=7784","title":{"rendered":"Kenya Scraps Visas for Africans, Zimbabweans Benefit from ETA Removal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br>Zim GBC News Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HARARE \u2013 In a major boost to African integration and travel, Kenya has abolished visa requirements for citizens of all African nations, alongside most Caribbean countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This landmark decision significantly simplifies travel for Zimbabweans and others across the continent, removing previous bureaucratic hurdles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crucially for Zimbabwe, the Kenyan government has also eliminated the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) that Zimbabwean passport holders previously needed to enter Kenya. This means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No lengthy application forms for Zimbabwean travellers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No visa fees required.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simplified entry into Kenya.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Holders of Zimbabwean passports previously did not need a visa to enter Kenya but an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a requirement that has also been scrapped,&#8221; the Kenyan government confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This places Zimbabweans on equal footing with other African nations under the new policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move is explicitly designed to support &#8220;open skies policies and tourism growth.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the Kenyan Cabinet noted a security exemption: &#8220;a key proposal is to grant ETA exemptions to all African countries, except Somalia and Libya, due to security concerns.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This development aligns with regional efforts like the SADC Tourism Univisa pilot, recently agreed upon by Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, and Angola. SADC Executive Secretary Mr. Elias Magosi stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSummit commended five Member States\u2026 for accepting to pilot the SADC Tourism univisa, a regional instrument which is expected to simplify travel and promote regional tourism\u2026 to boost intra-regional tourism.\u201d Kenya&#8217;s visa abolition complements this initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further easing travel, Kenya pledged to implement measures ensuring travellers receive any necessary ETA approval &#8220;instantly, or within 72 hours, depending on operational capacity.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision underscores the strong bilateral relationship between Zimbabwe and Kenya. Kenya&#8217;s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mrs. Getrude Nyausi Angote, recently emphasized deepening ties:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur priorities are in trade and investment, but more importantly, we intend to deepen our diplomatic relations in many ways,&#8221; she stated during her credentials presentation. Highlighting shared challenges, she added,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are looking to strengthen our relationship with Zimbabwe\u2026 to build resilience and implement climate action to address droughts, floods, and other climate-related challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ambassador Angote noted the foundation laid by President Mnangagwa and Kenyan President William Ruto:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are looking at continuing those kinds of relations and deepening engagements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This sweeping visa removal is seen as a significant step towards realizing the African Union&#8217;s vision of free movement and enhanced intra-African trade and tourism, directly benefiting Zimbabwean citizens and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zim GBC News\u00a92025<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zim GBC News Reporter HARARE \u2013 In a major boost to African integration and travel, Kenya has abolished visa requirements for citizens of all African nations, alongside most Caribbean countries.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7784"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7786,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7784\/revisions\/7786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}