Kenya grants SA visitors 90-day visa free stay

[Geza Ulole]

By MUTHOKI MUMO
More by this Author
Summary

• South Africans can now visit and stay in Kenya without a visa for up to three months, up from the previous 30 days.
• The extended visa free travel notice further tips the balance of diplomatic relations in favour of South Africa, which has been tightening visa rules for Kenyans.
• Kenya has long expressed discomfort with the many hurdles its citizens travelling to South Africa continue to face with little response from Pretoria.

News
Kenya grants SA visitors 90-day visa free stay
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 21:42
By MUTHOKI MUMO

President Uhuru Kenyatta with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Nairobi has granted South Africans additional time to visit Kenya without visas, pointing to a thawing of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Interior secretary Joseph Nkaissery says in a legal notice published last Friday that South Africans can now visit and stay in Kenya without a visa for up to three months, up from the previous 30 days.

The notice says South African “civil servants, holders of diplomatic, official or ordinary passports” can visit Kenya without visas “for a period exceeding (sic) ninety (90) days”. The Ministry of Interior later clarified that there was an error in the notice, and that it ought to have read a period “not exceeding ninety (90) days”.

The extended visa free travel notice further tips the balance of diplomatic relations in favour of South Africa, which has been tightening visa rules for Kenyans.

Kenya has long expressed discomfort with the many hurdles its citizens travelling to South Africa continue to face with little response from Pretoria.

In particular, Nairobi has raised concerns over the high costs of South African visas as well as the extended processing period, which now takes at least five days.

The situation has been particularly unfair given that South Africans can get visas on arrival in Kenya.

Mr Nkaissery’s decision may, however, be a signal that Pretoria is preparing to reciprocate the move by easing entry of Kenyans to South Africa.

President Uhuru Kenyatta had raised Kenya’s concerns over South Africa’s tough visa rules with President Jacob Zuma during his visit to Nairobi last year, but Mr Zuma refused to commit on measures to ease them.

South Africa claimed that its visa rules are meant to insulate it from irregular migration, a sore topic in a country that has suffered numerous bouts of xenophobic attacks against foreigners.

“We have to ensure that there are no loopholes for criminals to take advantage of,” Mr Zuma said in response to questions on his country’s visa policies.

Kenya’s decision to issue a travel warning to civil servants visiting South Africa last month threatened to rekindle the diplomatic row, but South Africa made no public response to the memo.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had advised Kenyans travelling to South Africa to be wary of rising crime in Johannesburg, including armed robberies, carjacking and burglary.

Ideally, Kenya and South Africa are supposed to be dealing with each other under the principle of reciprocity — meaning that benefits extended by one country are mirrored by the other.

In May 2016, the two countries agreed to cut visa fees and to issue three-year multiple entry visas for frequent travellers.

South Africa agreed to issue ten-year multiple entry visas for business travellers and academics and scrapped transit visas for Kenyans travelling through South Africa.

Kenya and South Africa are important trading partners. South African firms such as MultiChoice and SABMiller have expanded into Kenya while thousands of Kenyans are frequent travellers to South Africa for business and leisure.

The value of trade between the two countries has, however, been on the decline.

Last year, Kenya’s exports to South Africa fell from Sh4.35 billion to Sh4.15 billion while imports from the country fell 31.7 per cent to Sh41.86 billion.

MY TAKE
Ni pale SA watakapokataa ku-reprocicate visa free stay to Kenyans

 

[Ogwe]

Quick Analysis - Kenya grants SA visitors 90-day visa free stay..

Interesting development I must say, it reads to me like a smart long term strategy executed to attract south African investors, particularly those that are ethnically white and Asian to relocate and settle in East Africa.

The thinking behind the 90 days is likely factored in the following threat assessment;

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had advised Kenyans traveling to South Africa to be wary of rising crime in Johannesburg, including armed robberies, carjacking and burglary."

We need to appreciate that East Africa combined - Tanzania - Rwanda - Uganda - Kenya and Ethiopia is geopolitical relevant to the Chinese new economic order.

The region is experiencing it's golden age whereas as south Africa is facing a xenophobic backlash, long term investors worry that South Africans will not be able to sustain it first class infrastructure - with the skill and investment bleeding the country is faced with.

South African economy thrived on a subtle martial plan and favorable trade pact it enjoyed with the Western world. Americans pumped billions in soft and hard investment in South Africa in support of the then racist regime, the economy unlike the boom in East Africa was not based in a solid foundation. The big brother global white supremacist politics is facing serious challenges from a changing demographic patterns in the US and Europe.

The Chinese are the new bankers putting there money where actual opportunities exist and luck seems to favor East Africa. This brings me to the decision made by Kenya, the growing political and economic risk in south Africa means "pensions schemes" and related investment capital will transfer capital in companies in East Africa, a case in point is the growing interest in SAFARICOM and sportpesa.

South African banks and insurers downgraded by Moody's

The 90 days is sufficient for South African visitors to relocate. Kenya shares a lot in common with South Africa, active civil society, aggressive media, activist judiciary, a growing expatriate community and an expanding middle class that offers ethnic whites assurance of safety in numbers.

Devolution and expanding infrastructure systems connecting the region provides south Africans attractive opportunities to start over, live free of past racist guilt that has stunted opportunities to ethnic whites. East Africa offers an opportunity to be equal players in an emerging Africa.

Thoughts will be appreciated . .

 

[Geza Ulole]

Quick Analysis - Kenya grants SA visitors 90-day visa free stay..

Interesting development I must say, it reads to me like a smart long term strategy executed to attract south African investors, particularly those that are ethnically white and Asian to relocate and settle in East Africa.

The thinking behind the 90 days is likely factored in the following threat assessment;

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had advised Kenyans traveling to South Africa to be wary of rising crime in Johannesburg, including armed robberies, carjacking and burglary."

We need to appreciate that East Africa combined - Tanzania - Rwanda - Uganda - Kenya and Ethiopia is geopolitical relevant to the Chinese new economic order.

The region is experiencing it's golden age whereas as south Africa is facing a xenophobic backlash, long term investors worry that South Africans will not be able to sustain it first class infrastructure - with the skill and investment bleeding the country is faced with.

South African economy thrived on a subtle martial plan and favorable trade pact it enjoyed with the Western world. Americans pumped billions in soft and hard investment in South Africa in support of the then racist regime, the economy unlike the boom in East Africa was not based in a solid foundation. The big brother global white supremacist politics is facing serious challenges from a changing demographic patterns in the US and Europe.

The Chinese are the new bankers putting there money where actual opportunities exist and luck seems to favor East Africa. This brings me to the decision made by Kenya, the growing political and economic risk in south Africa means "pensions schemes" and related investment capital will transfer capital in companies in East Africa, a case in point is the growing Asia interest in SAFARICOM and sportpesa.

The 90 days is sufficient for South African visitors to relocate. Kenya shares a lot in common with South Africa, active civil society, aggressive media, activist judiciary, a growing expatriate community and an expanding middle class that offers ethnic whites assurance of safety in numbers.

Devolution and expanding infrastructure systems connecting the region provides south Africans attractive opportunities to start over, live free of past racist guilt that has stunted opportunities to ethnic whites. East Africa offers an opportunity to be equal players in an emerging Africa.

Thoughts will be appreciated . .

Attract to where tribalistic Kenya about to boil over in August?

 

[Jay456watt]

Attract to where tribalistic Kenya about to boil over in August?

hivi, mbona usiwe mtu wa kuongea vitu vya maana? things that make sense?

 

[Jay456watt]

My take is that SA will not soften its stand on Kenyans visiting their country...Kenya is wasting its time giving them free visas thinking that they will reciprocate these good deeds..plus that trade deficit is quite discouraging...how can we import 41B and export 4B? huyu Uhuru awache kua msofti...if it means reducing SA goods in our market, then let it be until that trade is more or less balanced.... that is what he should do...mbona tunambembeleza Zuma hivi?

 

[Uhuru n Umoja]

By MUTHOKI MUMO
More by this Author
Summary

• South Africans can now visit and stay in Kenya without a visa for up to three months, up from the previous 30 days.
• The extended visa free travel notice further tips the balance of diplomatic relations in favour of South Africa, which has been tightening visa rules for Kenyans.
• Kenya has long expressed discomfort with the many hurdles its citizens travelling to South Africa continue to face with little response from Pretoria.

News
Kenya grants SA visitors 90-day visa free stay
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 21:42
By MUTHOKI MUMO

President Uhuru Kenyatta with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Nairobi has granted South Africans additional time to visit Kenya without visas, pointing to a thawing of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Interior secretary Joseph Nkaissery says in a legal notice published last Friday that South Africans can now visit and stay in Kenya without a visa for up to three months, up from the previous 30 days.

The notice says South African “civil servants, holders of diplomatic, official or ordinary passports” can visit Kenya without visas “for a period exceeding (sic) ninety (90) days”. The Ministry of Interior later clarified that there was an error in the notice, and that it ought to have read a period “not exceeding ninety (90) days”.

The extended visa free travel notice further tips the balance of diplomatic relations in favour of South Africa, which has been tightening visa rules for Kenyans.

Kenya has long expressed discomfort with the many hurdles its citizens travelling to South Africa continue to face with little response from Pretoria.

In particular, Nairobi has raised concerns over the high costs of South African visas as well as the extended processing period, which now takes at least five days.

The situation has been particularly unfair given that South Africans can get visas on arrival in Kenya.

Mr Nkaissery’s decision may, however, be a signal that Pretoria is preparing to reciprocate the move by easing entry of Kenyans to South Africa.

President Uhuru Kenyatta had raised Kenya’s concerns over South Africa’s tough visa rules with President Jacob Zuma during his visit to Nairobi last year, but Mr Zuma refused to commit on measures to ease them.

South Africa claimed that its visa rules are meant to insulate it from irregular migration, a sore topic in a country that has suffered numerous bouts of xenophobic attacks against foreigners.

“We have to ensure that there are no loopholes for criminals to take advantage of,” Mr Zuma said in response to questions on his country’s visa policies.

Kenya’s decision to issue a travel warning to civil servants visiting South Africa last month threatened to rekindle the diplomatic row, but South Africa made no public response to the memo.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had advised Kenyans travelling to South Africa to be wary of rising crime in Johannesburg, including armed robberies, carjacking and burglary.

Ideally, Kenya and South Africa are supposed to be dealing with each other under the principle of reciprocity — meaning that benefits extended by one country are mirrored by the other.

In May 2016, the two countries agreed to cut visa fees and to issue three-year multiple entry visas for frequent travellers.

South Africa agreed to issue ten-year multiple entry visas for business travellers and academics and scrapped transit visas for Kenyans travelling through South Africa.

Kenya and South Africa are important trading partners. South African firms such as MultiChoice and SABMiller have expanded into Kenya while thousands of Kenyans are frequent travellers to South Africa for business and leisure.

The value of trade between the two countries has, however, been on the decline.

Last year, Kenya’s exports to South Africa fell from Sh4.35 billion to Sh4.15 billion while imports from the country fell 31.7 per cent to Sh41.86 billion.

MY TAKE
Ni pale SA watakapokataa ku-reprocicate visa free stay to Kenyans

South Africa wamekataa na pia Waziri mpya wa Mambo ya ndani ya South Africa wanaandaa sheria kali zaidi hivyo Nyang'au na kujikomba kwao hawata pata viza free hata ya wiki pamoja na madiplomat wao.

Njaa mbaya!

 

[Mwanzi1]

Mk254 mzee wa uthubutu yuko wapi, nifikishie salamu kwa Rais Uhuru Kenyatta, mwambie ukitaka vya wenzako ...omba kwanza. Sio kuvamia na kuchukuwa sivyo vyako.

 

[Ogwe]

"Geza Ulole, I agree with you that the politics of tribe in Kenya is sad and risk undermining state apparatus, but this is why I look at the growing East Africa with hope. It is truly sad that in Kenya one's name betrays them - it defines one's success or failure ..This said it is my prayer that this wont boil over in August..

This said, I think Geza Ulole your undermining Jamiiforums, it is a great platform that if we have, and share the right attitude among ourselves. This platform can and should place East Africa where we need to be as a people. The constant fights between Tanzanians and Kenyans on blog space is stupid .. As - I - See - It an economically stronger Tanzania benefits the whole region, stabilize East African borders and spread joy in the region. It is not a loss to people of East Africa,PARTICULARLY for Kenyans. As a Kenyan professional an expanded economic space could offer me and others like me endless opportunities that I might not be able to find at home, based on negative ethnicity.

The same should apply in the case of Rwanda, Burundi,Uganda and South Sudan. We are blessed to be citizens of a beautiful region. We need Tanzania to balance out the negative ethnicity in Kenya - For instance, I saw one Professor Osoro - a name sounding like one the Luo names appointed as the chair of President Magufuli mineral committe, and I was delightfully surprised ..In Kenya these type of appointments are ethnically politicized unlike in Tanzania .. Your country stands a better chance of being a political and economic power in the region and Africa because your leadership is blind of tribe only spots talent. And this is why I get disappointed when you reduce discussions to a beef between Kenyans versus Tanzania.. We are in a growing region, with devolution in Kenya counties can now directly seek trade with areas of East Africa that are willing to expand intra-regional trade, for prosperity of all communities living in beautiful East Africa.

In fact, in most of my blogs I am very supportive of Tanzanian achievements , particularly in the war on graft and national cohesion .. "Geza Ulole go slow in your rhetoric against Kenyans it keeps out and puts off professionals who love the governance systems of your COUNTRY.. Just a thought ..