The newly-introduced Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system has raked in around Ksh.158.8 million (USD 1 million) for the State in the past week, the Immigration department has reported.
On Thursday, The department released fresh data indicating that it had processed approximately 25,000 out of the 32,000 applications received.
As of yesterday, it had rejected 110 applications on security grounds while the remaining applications were at various stages of processing.
“We have been able to generate USD 1 million (approx. Ksh.158.8 million) 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,” Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said in a statement.
PS Bitok mentioned that the Immigration dept. anticipates a surge in the revenue collected from the platform in the coming weeks.
He maintained that the adoption of ETA aims to enhance security measures and collect essential passenger information in advance. This aligns with a global trend in travel protocols.
“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,” he said.
Furthermore, PS Bitok explained that the ETA system, now serving as the travel requirement for entry to Kenya in lieu of a Visa, is undergoing a review and refinement process. This is aimed at further decreasing the turnaround time for both application processing and approvals.
Bitok also clarified that the requirement to include personal bank statements in the ETA application has been eliminated, along with other non-essential details. This adjustment is intended to improve the user-friendliness of the application form.
