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Airlines, crew face Sh1.6m fines for passengers breaching eTA rules
Tuesday January 16 2024
Travellers at an airport in Kenya. FILE PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG
Airlines and flight captains face a $10,000 (Sh1.6 million) fine for every passenger brought into Kenya in contravention of the newly introduced Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) regulations.
Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithuri Kindiki said airlines and officers in command of their aircraft will be responsible for ensuring that all on board have valid eTA.
“Each carrier coming into the country shall not onboard a passenger who does not hold a valid Electronic Travel Authorisation,” he said in newly published regulations.
“The captain in charge of a carrier shall be responsible for ensuring that each passenger on board the aircraft holds a valid Electronic Travel Authorisation” he added.
Read: Address complaints on e-travel authorisation
Article 16(c) of the eTA regulations demands that airlines and their agents ensure that the data provided to the Director of Immigration by their passengers travelling to Kenya is accurate.
“Any carrier or agent in command who contravenes regulation 16C shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty of Ten Thousand United States Dollars. An administrative penalty payable under sub-regulation (1) shall be recoverable by the Director as a civil debt” Prof. Kindiki said.
“An administrative penalty shall not be payable under sub-regulation (1) where the aircraft operator or pilot in command of the aircraft satisfies the Director that the contravention was not made knowingly or recklessly” he added.
The CS said that any carrier that brings into Kenya a person who does not hold a valid eTA shall return that passenger to his or her last port of call or country of origin.
Starting January 5, 2024, all travellers except East Africans, are required to apply for and pay for a single entry 72 hours before their journey to Kenya.
In the new regulations, the eTA passenger applications are required to include flight identification including the scheduled departure date, departure time, arrival date and time as well as the last place or port of call of aircraft, place or port of initial arrival of aircraft, and several passengers.
For minors, including children and infants, the eTA depends on their nationality and age, they are required to have a passport with a validity of six months beyond their intended date of arrival in Kenya and the passport should have at least one blank page.
The passengers are also required to present the official travel document number showing the expiry date, their full names, nationality, date of birth, gender, seating information, baggage information, Visa number, and primary residence and address among others.
Read: Outrage as KRA accused of harassing tourists at airport
President William Ruto last year announced that Kenya would grant visa-free to visitors at the beginning of 2024.
But, when the programme was rolled out, visitors found themselves required to apply for the eTA at a cost of at least $30 (Sh4, 806.90).
Julius Bitok, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Immigration last week said that the government had collected Sh159 million) from some 25,000 eTA applications.
“We are also happy to say that of the 51 countries who have been coming to Kenya visa-free, the system has given them priority, so that as soon as they apply for eTA, they are able to get it as soon as possible. So, there is no backlog and there is no reason to worry,” he said.
