The Ministry of Interior and National Administration on Thursday announced that it collected over Kshs157 million one week after launching the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ETA).
According to a statement sent to Kenyans.co.ke by the Immigration Department, Interior Permanent Secretary, Julius Bitok stated that application fees largely contributed to the funds collected. One eTA costs Ksh4,600.
“We have been able to generate Ksh157 Million ($1 million) in the last week. This is much-needed foreign exchange. The number of tourists coming has increased because we have made travelling to Kenya easy,” Bitok stated.
How Kenya Generated Ksh157 Million
The Immigration Department stated that the money was collected from over the 32,000 applications already made through the system.
However, the PS noted that from the 32,000 applications made, only 25,000 applications were approved and 110 were cancelled.
Changes Made to ETA Applications
The government also announced that applicants will no longer be required to provide bank statements and other non-essential documents as part of the application process.
The PS stated ETA which has replaced visa as a travel requirement for entry to Kenya is being reviewed and refined to further reduce the turnaround time for applications and approvals.
"He revealed that the requirement to attach personal bank statements as part of the ETA application has since been dropped alongside other non-essential details to make the application form more friendly," the Immigration Department announced.
Other Changes
Residents of the East African Community will also not pay for eTA until further notice.
Further, Bitok noted that the system was putting Kenya on the global map as other countries had already implemented the systems as part of a global trend resulting from security concerns.
“Many countries in Europe and America have already introduced ETA and in doing the same, Kenya is being a trailblazer in Africa as it has always been,” Bitok stated.
ETA Challenges
Despite the government’s appraisal of the eTA system, travellers drawn from the continent and beyond complained that it was restrictive.
The eTA system was accused of being disadvantageous to travellers from countries that did not previously require visas to enter Kenya.
In response, to the accusations, the government stated that visitors from countries that did not require visas will be given priority during ETA applications.
“At $30 per application, ETA is intended to harmonise these charges across the board while granting automatic priority to nationals from the countries that were previously eligible for visa-free entry,” Bitok stated.
