The Immigration Department in an update to the media says the newly introduced Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) system that replaced VISA has generated the Government at least KSH. 158M in the last one week.
Further, over 35,000 applications from foreigners have been received on the portal, out of which, 25,000 have been approved to travel into the country ‘with no VISA’.
110 applications have so far been rejected due to security reasons while the remaining applications are in different stages of processing.
“We have been able to generate USD 1 million (approx. KSH. 158.8M) in the last one week. This is much needed foreign exchange. The number of tourists coming has increased because we have made travelling to Kenya easy,” says Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok in a statement to media houses.
The boom in revenue collection has been reported amid many foreigners complaining about eTA system, multiple travelers suggesting the older VISA regime was far better especially for those who qualified for actual VISA free entry in the past but now have to pay for the eTA.
