Just days after neighboring Tanzania introduced mandatory travel insurance for visitors traveling to the country’s mainland, Kenya has now also added mandatory health coverage to the ETA application process.
During a test conducted on October 6, 2026, VisasNews and Action-Visas found that an ETA application could no longer be completed when the system failed to recognize existing insurance coverage.
At the end of the application, before payment for the electronic travel authorization, a new page titled “Mandatory Inbound Travel Health Insurance Requirement” appears under the Kenyan Ministry of Health heading.
The portal states that the requirement is based on Gazette Notice No. 11492, published in late July 2026, and says that all travelers concerned must have valid inbound travel health insurance before arriving in Kenya.
When the system does not find insurance linked to the applicant, it displays the message: “You do not have an existing travel insurance.”
$44 insurance built directly into the ETA application
The etakenya.go.ke portal then offers two options: check the status of existing insurance by selecting “Search Status”, or purchase coverage by clicking “Get Now.”
Selecting the second option takes the traveler to a page titled “Apply for Inbound Travel Health Insurance,” displaying the logo of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Kenya’s insurance regulator.
The ETA applicant’s information is automatically transferred to the insurance module. When no recognized coverage is found, the page displays “Insurance REF: None.”
The premium is then shown as $44 per traveler. The applicant is invited to proceed with payment for the insurance.
Additional fees are added at the payment stage: a $1 “Access Fee”, followed by a payment gateway fee (“Gateway Fee”). During the test conducted by VisasNews, the total amount charged came to $52 per traveler.
During the same test, there was no option at this stage to directly upload proof of insurance issued in France or another foreign country.
The $44 premium had already been announced in August
The $44 amount is not new.
On August 20, 2026, during a meeting between Kenyan authorities and travel industry representatives, Director General of Immigration Evelyn Cheluget and eCitizen Director General Isaac Ochieng presented the main features of the planned system.
According to the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), officials said mandatory insurance would cost $44 per traveler and would be integrated directly into the ETA portal for travelers required to obtain the electronic authorization. Travelers exempt from the ETA requirement were expected to be able to purchase the insurance through eCitizen.
The system now appearing on the official portal therefore closely matches the model presented to Kenyan travel professionals on August 20.
KATA also reported that the coverage would have to be issued under the Kenyan scheme by an insurer regulated by the IRA. According to the information provided during that meeting, a standard travel insurance policy purchased abroad would not be sufficient to meet the new requirement.
Can travel insurance purchased abroad still be used?
This remains one of the biggest unresolved issues surrounding the new system.
In a clarification issued on August 7, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said travelers who already had insurance purchased in their home country would not need to buy another policy, provided their existing coverage met the minimum requirements set out in Gazette Notice No. 11492.
At the time, the ministry said travelers would need to upload their insurance certificate to the ETA system so that it could be verified before travel.
The Gazette sets a minimum combined coverage of $50,000, including $20,000 for medical expenses, $25,000 for emergency medical transportation and $5,000 for repatriation of remains, in addition to amounts covering prescribed medication and certain mental health services.
However, during the August 20 meeting with the travel industry, authorities presented a different model based on insurance issued under the Kenyan system and regulated by the IRA.
The system observed on October 6 currently appears to follow this second approach.
The “Search Status” button nevertheless suggests that some previously registered insurance policies may be recognized by the system. Kenyan authorities have not yet publicly explained which policies can be detected or how travelers with qualifying foreign coverage can have it recognized.
What about travelers who already have an ETA?
The introduction of this new step immediately raises questions for travelers who obtained their ETA before the insurance requirement was activated on the portal but have not yet entered Kenya.
At this stage, VisasNews has identified no public instruction stating that an ETA already approved must be replaced, amended or submitted again.
The official portal also notes that an ETA authorizes its holder to travel to Kenya, while final admission into the country remains subject to the decision of immigration authorities at the port of entry.
The insurance requirement must therefore be considered separately from the validity of the ETA itself.
Kenyan rules governing inbound travel health insurance state that a person entering the country must have coverage for the duration of their stay. They also provide that a traveler may obtain the required insurance at a Kenyan port of entry.
In its August 7 clarification, the Ministry of Health also said immigration officers would verify compliance with the insurance requirement through the ETA system as well as at points of entry. Travelers arriving without compliant insurance were expected to be able to purchase coverage from an authorized insurer before being admitted into the country.
As a result, a traveler who already holds an ETA issued before the change could be asked to provide proof of insurance on arrival, or potentially purchase the required coverage at the point of entry if no valid insurance is recognized.
However, no recent official instruction has yet clarified exactly how travelers with previously approved ETAs will be handled.
As of October 6, VisasNews has also not identified sufficiently documented reports confirming that the $44 insurance is already being systematically checked for passengers arriving at Kenyan airports or other border crossings.
Travelers who already hold an ETA are therefore not currently being instructed to apply for a new one, but the question of insurance checks upon arrival remains unresolved.
Requirement was suspended by a court in late August
The rollout is particularly notable because implementation of the insurance requirement had been suspended just weeks earlier by Kenya’s High Court.
On August 24, 2026, Justice Francis Rayola Olel ordered the suspension of the “operationalisation and enforcement” of Gazette Notice No. 11492 following a petition filed by two residents of Marsabit County.
The measure was to remain suspended pending consideration of their case, which was initially scheduled for September 16. The petitioners challenged, among other things, the Ministry of Health’s authority to impose an additional entry requirement through immigration services and incorporate it into the ETA system.
A second legal case was also filed over the implementation of the program and the selection of the insurers authorized to provide the coverage.
As of October 6, 2026, VisasNews has not identified any recent publicly available court ruling explicitly confirming that the August 24 suspension order has been lifted.
The effective activation of the insurance requirement within the ETA portal is therefore a significant development that, for now, has not been accompanied by a detailed public explanation from Kenyan authorities regarding the status of the ongoing legal proceedings.
Several questions remain unanswered, including whether foreign insurance policies can be recognized, how ETAs issued before the change will be handled, what checks are being carried out on arrival and, above all, the legal basis for implementing the system despite the latest publicly known court suspension.
VisasNews will continue to monitor the new requirement and update this information as soon as Kenyan authorities provide further clarification.
VisasNews Take
As of October 6, 2026, mandatory travel health insurance is no longer simply a policy announced by Kenyan authorities: it is now built directly into the ETA application process, with a $44 premium displayed when the system does not recognize existing coverage. Questions remain, however, for travelers who already hold an ETA and for those covered by insurance purchased abroad. In the absence of new official instructions, there is currently no indication that an ETA already issued must be replaced, although travelers may still face an insurance check upon arrival, as Kenyan regulations also allow the required coverage to be purchased at the point of entry.
