Did you know that with your Kenyan passport, you can travel to only 68 countries either visa free or get your visa on arrival? But with a Canadian visa, you suddenly are able to travel to 11 additional countries visa free.
Yep!
Kenyans can visit 11 more countries VISA-FREE simply by having a valid Canadian Visa on their passport!
Sweet, isn’t it?
Another advantage of this provision – obviously other than the fact that it saves you time, money, and humiliation of visiting yet another embassy -is that you can visit these other countries simultaneously on your Canadian trip.
This post is for you if you’ve ever wondered whether with a Kenyan passport and Canadian tourist visa can you visit Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, etc., or not. Or you have questions like: Can I visit or go to Cuba, Dominican Republic or Georgia with a Canada visa as a Kenyan National?
Yes, yes, and yes!
Don’t I just love the Canadians? Yaani, I did the entire visa application from the comfort of my sofa. Hakuna biashara ya kuenda embassy eti sijui finger prints . Kila kitu is done online.
And then the best part, since I have an account with one of the courier companies, I didn’t even have to lift unseat my bum from the sofa. I simply put my passport and the 1 page embassy notification letter in an envelope, the courier guy picked it up, and in about 2 weeks I had my passport back with a 4 year multiple entry Canadian tourist visa stamped on it.
UPDATE:
Beginning July 2018 things changed and now you have to visit a VFS Global center for finger printing. I guess I was lucky to get my visa when I did!
Then they’re so generous with the visa. As in you pay the CAD 100 visa fee and in exchange you get a multiple entry visa of the earlier of either 10 years or expiry date of your passport.
In my opinion, French embassy used to rank #1 in terms of simplicity and speed in issuing visas to Kenyans. But I think Canada has now taken that spot.
What's Covered in This Article
List of Countries Kenyans Can go to with a Canadian Tourist Visa
For some countries though, you must have used your multiple-entry Canadian visa at least once. As usual, be informed that a visa is not a guarantee of entry. Entry is at the discretion of the immigration officer handling your case at the border point of arrival.
North America
01. Canada
- With your Canadian visa, you can visit Canada.
02. Mexico
- Maximum stay: up to 180 days
- Sources: Consulate of Mexico in Kenya
Central America
03. Costa Rica
- Your Canadian visa must allow multiple entries, and with a minimum validity of at least six months in Canada. The six month validity period will be counted from the day of entry into Costa Rica. The passport must be at least six months valid.
- Maximum stay: up to 30 days
- Sources: Embassy of Costa Rica in Canada
04. Panama
- Your Canadian visa must be valid for at least one year from the date of arrival
- Your passport must valid for the minimum of three (3) months as of the date you enter Panama. If staying in Panama for more than three (3) months, the passport must be valid for at least six (6) months as of the date you enter Panama.
- Maximum stay: up to 30 days
- Sources: Consulate of Panama in Toronto, Canada
***
Caribbean
05. Dominican Republic
- If you currently hold a valid visa to enter Canada, you DO NOT require a Tourist Visa to enter the Dominican Republic, only a Tourist Card.
- Maximum stay: up to 30 days
- Sources: : Embassy of Dominican Republic in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
***
South America
None – What another shame!
***
Europe
06. Turkey
- A valid Canadian Tourist Visa gives you eligibility to apply for a 30 day eVisa
- Sources: Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs
07. Georgia
- Maximum stay: up to 90 calendar days in any 180-day period
- Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
08. Macedonia
- Your Canadian visa must be valid for at least 5 (five) days beyond the intended period of stay in the Republic of Macedonia
- Maximum stay: up to 15 days (fifteen) days at any given entry on the territory while the total duration of consecutive stays in the Republic of Macedonia must not exceed 3 (three) months in any six-month period calculated from the day of first entry.
- Sources: Macedonia Ministry of Foreign Affairs
09. United Kingdom
- You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:
- you arrive and depart by air
- have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after you arrive
- have the right documents for your destination (e.g. a visa for that country)
One of the following must also apply:
- you’re travelling to (or on part of a reasonable journey to) Canada and have a valid visa
- you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Canada and have a valid visa for that country
- Available at Heathrow airport only
- You won’t be able to transit without a visa if a Border Force officer decides you don’t qualify under the immigration rules.
Source: Check if you need a UK Visa
Middle East
10. Qatar
- It is NOT Visa-Free travel. The Canadian Visa entitles you to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) free of charge* by completing an online application prior to travelling. Once your request has been approved** you will receive an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) allowing you to obtain a visa-on-arrival to Qatar)
- Source: Visit Qatar, Qatar Ministry of Interior
Africa
None – What a shame!
Asia
11. South Korea
- You must hold a Multiple entry Canadian visa, and
- On transit to Canada through Korea; or
- stay in Canada and take a direct flight from Canada to Korea to go to Kenya or a third country.
-
You must have a flight ticket that is scheduled to depart from Korea within 30 days, and have never violated laws (e.g. overstay, etc.) after entering the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
-
Source : Republic of Korea Visa Portal
My personal Recommendation
While your travel strategy might involve starting with the visa-free or visa on arrival countries, my personal recommendation is that if you can, get a multiple entry Canada tourist visa.
This applies especially if extended travel is part of that strategy.
Not only because it is your gateway to visit Canada on a whim, but the ‘power’ it adds to your passport. And why not take advantage of the hassle-free Canadian visa application for Kenyan passport holders.
As in, the entire Canadian tourist visa application process is done online. No manenos of finger prints (though I hear it’s being introduced in July 2018), passport photos with sijui what color of background, ziii. Yaani, hakuna hata kukanyaga embassy! After completing the application online, you wait a couple days, if your visa is approved, they send you an acknowledgement letter. Print this letter, and together with your passport, tuma by courier to the Canadian High Commission in Gigiri. Remember to pay for a return so they send back your passport.
Mara that that! and in kedo 2 weeks you have your passport back with the visa stamped.
Easy pizzy like that!
UPDATE:
Beginning July 2018, you have to visit a VFS Global office for finger printing and what not. So I guess I was lucky to get my visa when I did!
But my favorite about Canada visa for Kenya passport holders?
For CAD 100, you get a multiple entry tourist visa for either 10 years, or up to expiry date of your passport. Whichever is earlier.
This not only saves you money, time, but also saves you the humiliation of going through visa application process for an additional 11 countries.
So with a Canadian visa, your Kenyan passport suddenly can now allow entry into 11 more countries in addition to the 72 countries Kenyan nationals can visit either visa – free or on arrival.
Still not convinced as to why you need to get you a Canadian visa?
By visiting Canada, you get to kick an item off your bucket-list.
Boom!
Countries you can Travel to Visa-Free with Kenya Passport
Countries Kenyan Passport Holders can Visit Visa-Free
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Hong Kong
- Dominica
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Indonesia
- Jamaica
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Namibia
- Panama
- Philippines
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Senegal
- Singapore
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Countries Kenyan Passport Holders can Visit with Visa on Arrival
- Bolivia
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Guinea-Bissau
- Iran
- Jordan
- Laos
- Madagascar
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Nepal
- Nigeria
- Palau
- Saint Lucia
- Samoa
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tuvalu
Countries Kenyans can Travel to with an E-VISA
- Bahrain
- Gabon
- Georgia
- India
- Sri Lanka
- Myanmar
