Travellers to Kenya are complaining about a new system that requires them to apply for Electronic Traveller Authorisation (ETA) three days ahead of their trips, which means they effectively still pay for visas in all but name.

Travel visas, which cost the equivalent of just over $50, were dropped on 1 January. The new ETA comes in at a little under $30.

But the new system isn’t a discount for everyone. Before the system came into effect, travellers from 51 countries didn’t require visas at all, so they paid nothing. That included South Africans.

According to Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and National Administration, “so far 9,787 ETA applications have been received” and “4,046 had already been processed, while the others are undergoing review on a priority basis guided by the travel schedule submitted by each applicant” as of January 8.

The government said the new system was in line with the country’s “security and other strategic interests” and was intended to “boost tourism and attract more foreign investment to Kenya.”

Zimbabwean academic Dr Ibbo Mandaza said the ETA was “a visa by another name,” as he discovered on arrival in Nairobi. Posting on X, One Jones Ntaukira, said the ETA system was “hectic” and an inconvenience.

“So until 24 hours ago, as a Malawian, I could just wake up, buy a ticket and fly to Kenya in the afternoon, visa-free. Now Kenya has “removed visas” for everyone visiting Kenya, but now everyone has to pay a $30 travel authorisation fee 72 hours before travel. What? Hectic.”

The ETA is issued 72 hours ahead of one’s travel to Kenya. To get the ETA, a passport-size photo and one’s flight itinerary, accommodation reservations or an invitation letter from a person one would be visiting are required.

Children under the age of 16 accompanied by their parents will also need the ETA. This is despite that they were exempted from paying visa fees as of 2016. Those coming from endemic countries should have yellow fever vaccination cards.

• A Tell report