Kenyans traveling to South Africa for Business and academic reasons have reason to smile as they will no longer need short-term Visas.
The move, according to the government of South Africa, came about as a result of the decision to foster Pan-Africanism in Africa.
With the new directive in place, Government official from Kenya who will travel to South Africa for any official duty will be granted a 3-month free Visa.
The effort is said to be in reciprocity after Kenya set up a more responsive and straightforward online application process for short-term visas for visitors from all African countries.
This move also comes as Kenya’s immigration department steps up efforts to streamline immigration services through automation of immigration services, digitization of immigration records, and the establishment of the e-passport system.
Kenya and South Africa are said to have also agreed to step up joint efforts in combating illegal immigration and also protect the integrity of each other’s travel documents.
In a statement, the government says ‘’Kenyan Government’s proposal of issuance of study visas based on the duration of studies and renewal on the application when the need arises was also granted, a big win for Kenyans pursuing studies in South Africa.
In 2017, Rwanda announced a new visa regime that allows visitors from across the world to be issued a 30-day visa on arrival in Kigali while Ghana, on the other hand, became the first country to roll out the policy in 2016.
Just recently, Ethiopia removed the requirement to attain Visa before traveling for African Visitors and replaced it with visitors being issued with the document once they arrived.