Gov’t rakes in Ksh157M from ETA system in one week

 

The government has earned Ksh157 million from the newly introduced Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in the past week.

Speaking during a tour of JKIA to assess the roll-out of the program, Principal Secretary State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok revealed that the country has received 32,000 applications from foreigners.

Data from the Directorate of Immigration shows that out of the total applicants, at least 25,000 have already been cleared, 110 applications rejected for security reasons while the balance is at various stages of processing.

Immigration and Citizen Services PS Prof Julius Bitok said the total revenue obtained through ETA in the same period stands at around one million USD (USD1M) with projections pointing to potential rise in tandem with the expected growth in applications.

“We have been able to generate $1 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.”

He said the introduction of ETA as a travel procedure was a global trend informed by security concerns and the need to obtain important passenger profiles in advance. It is already in existence in many Western countries.

“Many countries in Europe and America have already introduced ETA and in doing the same, Kenya is being a trail blazer in Africa as it has always been.”

The PS said 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 ETA application has since been dropped alongside other non-essential details to make the application form more friendly.

During his Jamhuri Day address last year, President William Ruto said Kenya will do away with visas as an entry requirement beginning this year to encourage more visitors into the country.

BY KBC NEWS