South African travelers need visa for Kenya from July 1

The Kenyan High Commission has announced that South African travelers wanting to visit Kenya will need a visa from July 1, 2014.

Ordinary visa applicants traveling to or transiting through Kenya will be required to pay a service charge of R 750 ($70).

All applicants will be required to produce the following documents:

1. Return Air Ticket
2. Invitation letter from the host in the Republic of Kenya
3. Letter from employer/institution/college/school
4. Proof of funds (bank statement)
5. Applicants must appear in person for Biometrics
6. Two Passport Photographs

The processing period for the visas is strictly five (5) working days.

Holders of official or diplomatic passports travelling on Government business are not affected by these changes and will continue to get visitor’s passes on arrival at the ports of entry.

New advisories for Kenya
Meanwhile the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated its travel advisory for Kenya following recent unrest over the weekend.

Forty-eight people were killed in Mpeketoni, near Lamu, on Sunday following a deadly Al Shabaab terrorist attack. During the attack, 20 masked gunmen reportedly torched hotels and banks and shot spectators who had gathered to watch World Cup matches at a local hotel.

The FCO now advises against all but essential travel to areas within 60km of the Kenya-Somali border, as well as to the Kiwayu and coastal areas north of Pate Island. The updated advisory says there is a high threat of terrorism, including kidnapping.

Following the updated travel advisory, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) reassured tourists that Lamu Island was in no way affected by the attack on Mpeketoni township and neither was any other part of the Kenya coast. They said in a statement: “KTB is able to confirm that Mpeketoni has no international tourist facilities and is not an area frequented by international visitors. There were no tourists in the area at the time of the incident.” The statement further read that all tourist activities continued as normal throughout the country with holiday-makers visiting the country for safari circuits and the popular coastal resorts of Diani, Malindi, Watamu, Kilifi and Lamu.