Kenya Among World's Most Welcoming Countries as Passport Falls to 120th Globally

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has emerged as one of the world's most welcoming countries for foreign travellers while its own passport has slipped to 120th globally, exposing a striking gap between how easily visitors enter Kenya and how easily Kenyans can travel abroad.

The latest Passport Reports ranking puts Kenya's passport at position 120 among 199 countries, with a Mobility Score of 75.

That means Kenyan passport holders can access 75 destinations without obtaining a traditional visa before travelling, through visa-free entry, visa-on-arrival or electronic travel authorisation arrangements covered by the index.

The ranking marks a 52-place fall from Kenya's previous position of 68th, according to the report.

But there is another side to the figures.

Kenya is ranked second globally in the report's welcoming ranking, which measures the access Kenya provides to citizens of other countries.

The result puts Kenya in an unusual position: a country that is relatively open to foreign visitors, while its citizens still face significant barriers when travelling abroad.

123 destinations still require a visa

The Passport Reports data shows that Kenyans can travel to 37 destinations visa-free.

Another 33 destinations provide visa-on-arrival or other facilitated entry arrangements, while five offer access through an electronic travel authorisation.

However, 123 destinations still require Kenyan passport holders to obtain a visa.

The report puts Kenya's worldwide travel access at 37.9 per cent of the destinations measured.

The ranking methodology counts destinations that can be accessed without a visa, with a visa on arrival or through an eTA when calculating the Mobility Score. Where countries have the same score, the number of visa-free destinations is used to break the tie, followed by eTA and visa-on-arrival access.

Kenya remains among Africa's stronger passports

Despite the global drop, Kenya remains 10th among 54 African countries in the Passport Reports continental ranking.

Seychelles leads the African table, followed by Mauritius and South Africa. Botswana, Morocco, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini and Malawi also rank ahead of Kenya.

Kenya is followed by Tunisia, Tanzania, Ghana and Zambia among the next-ranked African passports.

For Kenyan travellers, Africa remains one of the easiest regions to access.

The report puts Kenyan passport access across its African grouping at 71.7 per cent.

The Caribbean provides the highest regional access at 81.3 per cent, followed by Africa at 71.7 per cent, Oceania at 57.1 per cent and North America at 52.2 per cent.

Access drops sharply in other regions.

Kenyan passport holders have access to 28 per cent of destinations in Asia, 16.7 per cent in South America, 5.9 per cent in the Middle East and just 2.1 per cent in Europe, according to the report.

Kenya's unusual position on inbound travel

The figures become more striking when the direction of travel is reversed.

Passport Reports says citizens of 123 countries can enter Kenya through visa-free arrangements, electronic authorisation or visa-on-arrival procedures.

The report lists no country in the reverse category — meaning no destination is identified where Kenyans enjoy simplified entry while citizens of that country face a visa requirement to enter Kenya.

That imbalance helps explain Kenya's second-place position in the welcoming ranking.

In other words, Kenya has opened its doors considerably wider to foreign visitors than the doors available to Kenyans travelling to many other parts of the world.

The visa-free promise

The findings come almost three years after President William Ruto announced on December 12, 2023, that Kenya would remove visa requirements for visitors from around the world from January 2024.

The government presented the move as part of a wider effort to promote tourism, trade, investment and the free movement of people.

Ruto later linked the policy to closer African integration and trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Kenya subsequently introduced the Electronic Travel Authorisation system, replacing the traditional visa application process for most foreign visitors.

The Directorate of Immigration Services currently says all visitors, including children and infants, must obtain an approved eTA before travelling to Kenya, subject to applicable exemptions and arrangements.

The system has therefore not meant that every foreign visitor simply arrives without any prior travel requirement.

Instead, Kenya has shifted much of its entry process towards electronic authorisation.

What the ranking means for Kenyan travellers

For Kenyans planning international travel, the ranking is a reminder that visa-free access remains highly uneven.

A passport's position does not determine whether an individual will be admitted to a particular country. Entry conditions can also depend on the destination, purpose of travel, length of stay and other immigration requirements.

The Passport Reports figures are therefore best read as a broad measure of travel mobility rather than a guarantee of entry.

The report also places Kenya first among the four countries in its Swahili-language grouping.

Kenya ranks 43rd among 60 English-speaking countries and 40th among 56 Commonwealth countries in the report's additional comparisons.

A mixed picture for Kenya's passport

The latest figures present a more complicated picture than the headline ranking alone suggests.

Kenya remains one of Africa's more mobile passports and is particularly strong within Africa and the Caribbean.

At the same time, its 120th global position shows that Kenyan travellers still face substantial visa barriers outside those regions.

The country's second-place welcoming ranking adds another dimension.

Kenya has made it easier for much of the world to visit, even as Kenyans continue to encounter restrictions when they travel in the opposite direction.

For a country that has made free movement a central part of its diplomatic and regional integration agenda, that gap is likely to remain an important measure of how far Kenya's travel diplomacy has progressed.

About the Author

Maureen Onyango is a journalist passionate about storytelling, life coaching and spiritual lessons. She studied at the Kenya Institute of Management and enjoys telling stories that inform, inspire and empower communities.