Thursday, January 13, 2011

New year, new fees: Kenya visa charges and national park entry fee rises


Kenya single-entry visa fees have returned to the US$50 rate (see "Comments": the increase was finally  enacted on 1 July 2011). The fee was reduced to $25 (and under 16s were exempt – all passport-holders now pay the same fee) after the post-election violence early in 2008, in order to “stimulate visitor numbers”. With numbers duly stimulated, the government is now cashing in again, all of which leads to a level of hassle and disruption to every visit that has a generally negative PR effect and surely offsets the value of the fees, especially once processing costs – and inevitable leakage – have been accounted for.

You can apply in advance at your local embassy or high commission (which requires two photos and extra fees for mailing) or get the visa on arrival, whether you’re flying into Kenya or arriving overland. There’s no advantage whatsoever in applying in advance, apart from going through formalities on arrival slightly more quickly. Such is the lack of a queueing system at Nairobi and Mombasa, however, that even that advantage is often negligible.

If you’re getting your visa on arrival, to save time at the visa desk, you should print out the visa form and fill it in in advance. You won’t need photos if you’re applying on arrival, just the completed form and the exact sum in cash only – either US$50, €40 or £30 per person – for all the members of your party.

The single-entry visa actually allows you to leave Kenya for any of the other East African Community countries – Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi – and return to Kenya on the same visa (you’ll still need visas for the other countries). So for a trip that starts and finishes in Kenya (and includes only two stays in Kenya), you won’t need a multiple-entry visa. For a multiple-entry visa, which is valid for a year, you now pay US$100, €80 or £60.

It’s worth noting that South Africans and New Zealanders staying less than thirty days in Kenya don’t require visas. Most other nationalities do. Commonwealth passport-holders are generally exempt, except for Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Canada, Guyana, India, Malaysia (more than 30 days), New Zealand (more than 30 days) Nigeria, South Africa (more than 30 days), Sri Lanka, St Christopher & Nevis, and the UK. The thirty-day exemption isn’t that widely understood at immigration desks, so you may have to argue the case.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Wildlife Service, who run the National Parks (not the national reserves), have announced new fees for 2011, including seasons for the busiest of the parks, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Meru.

It's worth emphasising that the fees schedule doesn't include Kenya's national reserves which come under the authority of local county councils rather than the Kenya Wildlife Service. That includes the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the combined Samburu-Bufffalo Springs-Shaba National Reserves.

Currently, the Maasai Mara fees for tourists quoted on the Narok County Council website are $60 for adults and $30 for children. However, the site is often down. Samburu-Bufffalo Springs-Shaba fees as quoted on Samburu County Council's site are here

Narok have recently announced changes to the entry fees to Maasai Mara National Reserve in the Kenyan press. Their fee of $70 per 24 hours puts them roughly in line with the KWS fees for Amboseli and Lake Nakuru ($75 in high season). However the inclusion of an $80 fee for being “outside” the reserve, is ambiguous, as the community ranches and private conservancies all have their own access fees. It’s hard to see what Narok County Council have to do with it.

Samburu County Council are likely to put their charges up soon. At least that payment covers 24-hour entry to all three reserves in the area – Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba.

















And how long is a safari?

If you’re booking a safari, it’s essential to check your operator has included the fees in the price. And you should also check how many days they've included, as all fees are based on a 24-hour period. It’s not uncommon at the very competitive budget end of the market, and especially where the lodge or camp being used is outside the fee-paying area, for a safari to arrive in the park/reserve area towards the end of day 1, but not enter the fee area until the beginning of day 2 and then leave again shortly after the expiration of the 24-hour ticket on day 3 (ticket rangers at the park and reserve gates usually allow an hour’s extension). This means that a “three-day safari” might start with a pre-breakfast game drive on day 2, entering the park at, say 6.30am, and finish with an early breakfast and game drive out of the park on day 3, exiting at 7.30 or 8am.

And that’s how budget operators make a one-day entry fee stretch to a three day safari.

16 comments:

  1. In fact, it's recently been announced they're keeping to the $25 visa rate (and free for under 16s) until at least June 30th 2011. A good thing too, and in my view paying for visas at all is never a good thing, but the change of mind doesn't say much for consistency in the Kenyan government.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, it seems this is almost a sales trick now. Visas will stay at $25 for at least the rest of 2011.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is there an up-to-date page for Kenyan Immigration authorities that discusses the actual visa on arrival costs? Back in March I saw the change would be as of July 1st 2011 (still online for the embassy in Washington, DC but not for the high commission in Canada) - are they really planning to maintain the $25 cost for the rest of the year?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm trying to find out myself. I heard on TripAdvisor that the price is staying at $25 and free for under 16s, but I can't confirm that on any of the Kenya embassy, high commission or tourist board sites. I'll post a new post here and mention it on twitter as soon as I've heard for sure from the horse's mouth!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks richard. This information will help you people visiting for seeing the wonderful tourist places in Kenya. Though there is a slight increase, it will not affect the growth of the Kenya's tourism sector.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!

    Australian Visa Cost

    ReplyDelete
  7. Where did you get New Zealand less than 30 exemption as it is not mentioned on any of the "offical" web sits that I can see

    ReplyDelete
  8. Geoff, it's on the Kenya Embassy in Bangkok website - http://www.kenyaembassy.or.th/visa.htm

    You need to click the bottom link.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The visa fee and park fees are disgustingly high this will just kill tourism and fill the wallets of certain people!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think that $25 one way or the other would influence whether from Europe would visit Kenya or not, and its a tiny proportion of the overall cost of your visit including flights etc.

      Delete
  10. Hey, nice site you have here! Keep up the excellent work!

    Australian Visa Cost

    ReplyDelete
  11. On July 1 2011 the $25 discount visa rate was finally abolished.

    Visas now cost the same price –  US$50 or €40 or £30 – for all visitors, including children. As ever, the simplest way of acquiring one is to buy it on arrival, either at the airport, or at a Kenyan border post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I can verify that for stays less than 30 days New Zealand passport holders do not need a visa. I came through the Taveta border a few days ago and on producing evidence of the 30 day caveat I got in for free!! Most excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for that, Mr Anon. from NZ. Much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The fee seems to be affordable. Is it still the same now?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well, this is a really old post, but actually yes, the visa fee is still $50 per person. Though under-16s are now free.

    ReplyDelete