South Africa Grants Kenyans Visa-Free Entry From January 2023
Kenyans will be permitted to visit South Africa without a visa beginning in January 2023, according to the new resolutions made by Presidents William Ruto and President Cyril Ramaphosa while holding bilateral talks.
Lydia Kadima 
On Wednesday, November 9, 2022, while at the State House in Nairobi, the two leaders announced in a joint statement that they had loosened the strict immigration regulations between South Africa and Kenya in an effort to increase continental trade.
Kenyans will be able to visit the second-largest economy in Africa for up to 90 days per year without a visa under the new rules.
“Kenyans holding ordinary passports will be allowed to enter South Africa on a visa-free regime for up to 90 days per calendar year,” President Ruto announced.
The South African president said that the agreements will start in January 2023, and the two nations are working to put them into practice.
“With the view of allowing Kenyans to visit South Africa on a free-visa basis, we have discussed the thorny issue of visas. We agreed that indeed that Kenyans should be able to visit South Africa without requiring them to have visas. This will commence on the 1st of January 2023. Our officials will speed up the processes to implement this move,” President Ramaphosa said.
The two Heads of State announced their agreement on a policy for returns in cases of a breach of immigration laws and regulations from both nations.
“The two countries have also agreed on a return policy when immigration laws and regulations are breached to make sure that bad elements that try to infiltrate our borders are dealt with firms and decisively,” said President Ruto.
Furthermore, the two presidents agreed to develop a sustainable mechanism to identify, monitor, and resolve non-tariff barriers that limit the trade potential between Kenya and South Africa.
