The government of Kenya will lose about U$32,605,151 annually from visas after President Dr. William Ruto announced an unprecedented reform in the country’s immigration policy.
“Beginning January 2024, Kenya will be a visa-free country,” President William Ruto announced on Tuesday during a Jamhuri Day celebration.
President Ruto is hoping that the waiver of Visa will attract more visitors to the country and help replenish its stockpile of foreign currencies which have been dwindling due to, among other factors, the strengthening of the Dollar due to a hike in interest rates by the rich countries.
This announcement comes at a time when the Ministry of Interior and Immigration had proposed higher visa fees as the cash-strapped government sought to have State corporations supplement disbursements from the Exchequer with non-cash revenue from fees and fines.
“Kenya is the home of humanity, a scientific fact that fills us with pride and underscores our rich heritage. It is with great pleasure, as President of this extraordinary country, to make a historic announcement of the decision of the Government of Kenya,” said President Ruto.
“In short, we are the first home of all humanity, and we joyfully embrace our ancestral task of welcoming humanity home,” said Ruto.
Projections given by the National Treasury show that the government was expected to rake in Sh5.67 billion from immigration visas and other consular fees in the current financial year ending in June 2024.
This was then expected to rise to Sh5.7 billion in the next 2024/2025 financial year before slowing down to Sh4.9 billion in the subsequent year.
The number of visitor arrivals for both leisure and business tourism has been increasing as the country climbed out of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted travel.
Official data from the Directorate of Immigration Services show that visitor arrivals in Kenya, excluding those in transit, increased 77.9 percent to 1,465,175 in 2022, up from 823,312 in the previous year.
The number of visitors, however, is yet to hit the pre-pandemic levels of 1,862,572, developments that have hurt the country’s tourism sector which is also a major foreign exchange earner for the country.
Most of the visitors come by air, either for holiday or business.
