Expiring Kenyan visa during Coronavirus Covid-19
April 9, 2020
On arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, I was given a 30-day visa. It cost me 40€. If I'd have paid in US$ it would have cost me 50$. Which is not the same thing. If I'd have paid in GB£ it would have cost me just £30.
An East African Tourist visa valid for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda would have cost me 100US$ and allows free movement within the 3 countries but if you crossed the border to Tanzania or Burundi the visa was finished. Understandably. I am grateful that I did not apply for this visa.
I entered Kenya on March 12. In my experience, a 1-month visa actually means 30 days. So by April 10, tomorrow in fact as I write this, my visa would expire.
I had researched about extending visas. It is a fairly pain-free process during normal times. Most major towns have immigration offices. Nakuru is 70km away. But we are in unprecedented times. Staying at home and staying safe, takes priority. There is no total lockdown. The president knows people have to work as most people here live hand to mouth. People are just getting by. But there are restrictions. They have blocked all routes into and out of Nairobi. The road system here is like the rail network in England. London is the hub. There are limited cross country routes.
I could have gone to Nakuru as Naivasha is in Nakuru county. But I was reluctant to go. Staying safe is the idea here.
So I sent some emails to various email addresses I found for the Kenyan Immigration department. I found Twitter accounts. This has become the norm. Questions are answered on social media platforms. Even the UK tax office has a similar system. It's less crazy than calling or emailing.
So here is the first tweet I sent:
I entered Kenya on March 12. In my experience, a 1-month visa actually means 30 days. So by April 10, tomorrow in fact as I write this, my visa would expire.
I had researched about extending visas. It is a fairly pain-free process during normal times. Most major towns have immigration offices. Nakuru is 70km away. But we are in unprecedented times. Staying at home and staying safe, takes priority. There is no total lockdown. The president knows people have to work as most people here live hand to mouth. People are just getting by. But there are restrictions. They have blocked all routes into and out of Nairobi. The road system here is like the rail network in England. London is the hub. There are limited cross country routes.
I could have gone to Nakuru as Naivasha is in Nakuru county. But I was reluctant to go. Staying safe is the idea here.
So I sent some emails to various email addresses I found for the Kenyan Immigration department. I found Twitter accounts. This has become the norm. Questions are answered on social media platforms. Even the UK tax office has a similar system. It's less crazy than calling or emailing.
So here is the first tweet I sent:
And this is a 2nd reply:
And within an hour, the Kenyan Immigration department issued a directive:
So that's the score here. I am covered for how ever long this whole fiasco carries on for.