As if my visa application troubles were not enough, there was drama at the border in Mombassa, with an official declaring my visa to Kenya invalid, leading to 90 minutes of apprehension and utter frustration in a stifling hot immigration hall at Moi International Airport.
My Invalid Kenya Visa…And A Tip Request
When I applied for my Kenyan visa, I chose a transit visa. The requirements for a transit visa are that you must 1.) transit Kenya into a third country and 2.) remain in Kenya for less than 72 hours.
I would be in Mombassa for a bit more than 48 hours before continuing to Johannesburg, South Africa via Nairobi. At $21, transit visas are $30 cheaper than tourist visas, but I chose transit not to save the money but because I thought it might be issued more quickly than a tourist visa.
When I arrived in Mombassa I was chewed out by a man in a yellow safety vest for taking a picture of the aircraft, which may have been a good indicator of what was to come.
Downstairs, the air was dead in the arrivals hall and the heat already stifling, even though it was not even 8:00 am yet. I waited in line for my turn; the line moved very slowly (it seemed to take about five minutes to process each arriving guest).
Finally, I reached the front. A man wearing a “Kenya Aerotech” reflective vest took my passport. Let’s call him Joseph. He saw that I had a transit visa and said, “When your next flight?” I told him that it was in two days and presented him with the itinerary, which I had printed.
He then said, “This not transit. You vacation here.” I responded that I entered from Germany and am continuing to South Africa and staying less than three days, per the terms of the transit visa.
He smiled, shook his head, and said, “Nope. No good. You holiday here. No transit.”
Oh, that smile…
Next, he said, “Visa no good. Go get a tourist visa.”
“From where?” I asked. He shrugged. Then he signaled for me to have a seat in the corner and let everyone else through first.
So for the next hour I sat and waited as every last passenger on my Eurowings flight was processed into Kenya.
Finally, the arrivals hall was empty. During this time, I tried to reach out to my friends who were waiting for me at the hotel, but the signal was horrible inside the terminal (one bar, and only intermittently) and there was no wi-fi.
Joseph finally came over to me and wanted to ensure I was really booked at the Severin Sea Lodge. Of course, my data was working painfully slowly, but I did manage to look up the hotel’s telephone number while I was waiting. I gave him the number and he called the hotel, ostensibly to verify I was a registered guest there due to check in that day and only stay for two days.
No answer.
He called again.
No answer.
And again.
No answer.
I finally reached my friend via SMS and he told me that he was literally standing at the front desk of the hotel and the phone never rang. So I got Joe’s number and gave it to my friend, who gave it to the hotel. They called him, he answered, and after a brief conversation, he motioned for me to come back to an immigration desk where he stamped me into Kenya.
But want to know why this was all just a scam? Because after stamping me in, he walked with me to the baggage claim area, where there was a Lufthansa agent waiting with my bag. She thought I was going onto Addis Ababa, but I explained to her I would just be stopping here. I feared that would arouse Joe’s suspicions even further, but he did not seem to mind.
And then came the request.
“Do you have a tip for me?”
I laughed. He laughed. I told him to come take a selfie with me. He was happy to do so. The Lufthansa/Eurowings ground handling agent joined us.
And yes, I gave him a $5 tip, once I was already stamped in. This bribe gift was my welcome to Kenya. He told me that he would see me on Thursday to make sure I left his country (he said it in a good-natured way) and to message him if I wanted to hang out (seriously).
I was never really scared – I’m used to this sort of thing by now. But still, it was not the way I wanted to start my trip to Kenya and it was all so pointless. All just a pathetic display of “see, I have authority over you.” I went along for the ride and if I had to go to Addis and Cairo, I would have. Thankfully, it did not come to that.
Kenya is a great nation and I will return sooner rather than later. But this sort of welcome was unwelcome.
This is the worst thing about traveling in Kenya – the constant attempt by people in positions of authority, petty or otherwise, to try and shake you down for a bribe. This story has a happy ending, but unlucky people are put through much worse stress before the bribe can be requested and tendered to end it all. See also Indonesia.
Strange, I lived and worked in Jakarta for almost 7 years and never paid a bribe, never had to. I saw it going on- at CGK airport immigration, the guy in front of me had a $5 note in his passport when he handed it over; someone stopped by police handing over a few Rupiah notes with his driving licence. But in almost 7 years, I was never pressured to myself.
And I thought you had a way with people Matthew…
Another typical sh!thole country
Try going through the airport in Conakry, Guinea. They hit you up to every turn and are not shy about it.
I know it’s tempting to take pictures of the plane if you are outside and many do. But there are plenty of places in Africa that can land you in serious trouble. Juba is one that comes to mind.
The real moral of the story is get your visa issues sorted out before the day of travel…
Actually, no. That was the moral of my previous story. Here, my visa was issued and valid. The moral of this story is to expect corruption at Kenyan borders.
A last minute issued visa while you were traveling…nobody else on the plane had any issues?
There are daily flights from MBA to NBO and from NBO to JNB but you chose to stay 2 days in MBA. So while you were within the limits of a transit visa, the fact that you chose to stop for 2 days in MBA means a tourist visa would have been more appropriate. And, as someone else has pointed out, nobody else on the flight had an issue and they probably all had tourist visas.
But you make it and it only cost you $5 and a couple of hours, so not a bad deal.
The issue there would be having a return ticket as per the terms on the visa page highlight. Having an onward ticket (to a 3rd country in this case South Africa) is very different from having a Return ticket (point of origin). Could that have been the cause of the delay in service?
The company name on the guy’s yellow jacket is not of Kenya Immigration (they rarely/if ever) wear those reflective jackets. This was just a sad experience..
Obviously you are highly exergerating. There were 209 passagers in that flight and it seems there were 4 open counters. 5 × 209 will translate to 1045 minutes. Which translates to 17.416 hours then divide that by 4 whis is 4.35 hours. Youe were not the last passaager to be cleared and therefore there is no way your friends could have even left the airport to the nearest hotel. Its a fact that you were not on transit and mombasa was a visit point when you planned your travelling. You were dishonest in acquiring transit visa in the pretext that it was easy to get approval. In other countries you should have been returned.
There were eight counters open and more than half the plane was continuing to JRO and no, you are wrong about the transit visa—the terms of the visa are very clear, which I satisfied. Stop encouraging corruption. It’s pathetic. It is tragic that your rabid nationalism obscures common sense.
I’m curious to know if the folks in the picture with you knew that you were a travel blogger? The two seem very eager to take a picture with you. It was a nice picture. Great information Matthew.
Like the selfie. “I was never really scared” — you are fearless, from Ukraine alone, that’s for sure
Welcome to a third world country. Bribes and gifts are expected. People can make your life difficult of they can.
What’s with this racist bs?? You’re supposed to be fantastico!
@Kramer: Are you on meds? What is racist about a third world country? Countries have race now? I come from a third world country so I can definitely say that bribes are the norm.
Matthew, were you staying on the north side of Mombassa, or south? Having gone there three times, it is a great jumping off point for flying to various safari trips. Nothing beats the view of Mt Kilimanjaro in the early morning.
Good story.
I think “wants to hang out” = more tips.
I was golfing in Egypt once and the golf pro wanted to “hang out” with me each day. But it didn’t take long to realize it wasn’t my friendship he was after.
My partner wants to go back to Kenya and although I’ve never been, I had heard all the stories of graft. This just reinforced my view, and I’ll go elsewhere, but ultimately its Kenya that misses out on tourists who can chose to holiday elsewhere.
I’ve been at that Airport and they are horrible. I had 2 incidents in one trip. Going through Security check on the way out the workers demanded I give them all my left over Shillings, which was about $USD 80. When I said no, they deliberately and wantonly took my baggage off the belt and did a search. At one time they even threatened to take the bag away without my presence. I was having none of that of course and managed to convince them that it was illegal. So they desisted. But they made me wait an hour or so. On the same trip going in, I was told the same thing with the Visa. I was transiting, exactly like yours. Mine was 48 hours but they insisted on making me get a tourist visa. Like you, I said no. And also like you, they made me wait for over 2 hours. They did take my passport and it was out of my sight most of the time, which had me in a spin. It wasn’t until I saw a large Kenyan Army dude walk past. Not sure of his rank but he had lots of colored stripes and badges. I explained to him the situation. He was good enough to look into it for me right away and within 5 minutes I was outta there, with his apology. Needless to say, I have not been back since. No intention of. Good work Kenya.
Very interesting that the same thing happened to you. Truthfully, I’ll be going back later this year, but flying through NBO so I hope that the process there will be smoother.
I made four trips to Nigeria last year so, yes, I was constantly being asked for gifts, tips, etc. I did not hand over a single Naira or Euro; my usual response to the question whether I had something for them was a flat “no”.
I would have responded with the same phrase I use in India when I get shaken down for bribes, and which every shopkeeper tries to claim when you try to pay with a large bill: “No change, sir.”
At NBO and Wilson, I’ve not had these issues. That said, I’d probably avoid doing the transit visa thing. Their evisas take no time at all and the extra few bucks is worth avoiding this type of hassle .
Imo transit visa was a mistake. Just pay the extra money and be safe (although i sometimes enjoy a challenge. Just not in Africa).
I’ve been to Kenya and never felt shaken down. In fact I thought it was one of the more legit third world countries. Safari there one of my favorite travel experiences !
Btw if you’re hot you may want to take off your jumper and /or blazer :). Athleisure is the way t go! You’d hate me but I’ve converted to shorts for long haul flights.
I agree with others – get the correct visa from the beginning.
I’m from Germany and living in Nairobi since 2 years. I’ve traveled the route almost a dozen times, never had issues. I also never had to pay a bribe in Kenya. Visas are given within 24 hours… I once forgot and applied for a visa 8 hours before my flight left – no problem.
Tips and bribes are also not the same… if you aren’t happy with the service, don’t tip. If someone wants to be bribed they would ask for it while holding your passport in their hand and before approving your visa.
Most tourists going to Kenya are Americans that happily tip – which is why many Kenyans, seeing a white tourist, expect a tip. But it’s not a necessity.
By the way: try to get a visa for Germany. I’ve been trying with my Kenyan wife for the best of the past 2 years. We even took a lawyer, went into remonstration. No chance. Until now, we weren’t even able to get a tourist visa for a single week – despite putting thousands into legal processes… (and the problem is clearly on the German side).
I’ve also extended my visa several times beyond the 3 month limit – once even after it was already expired (because I forgot). Never had any troubles. Visa was extended without even asking questions.
Glad you want to visit Kenya again. Karibu sana.
You were luck not to be asked for a tip related to yellow fever vaccination. In Kenya it is so common! I faced a similar situation in Ethiopia when i was exiting and the migration officer said that i hd not paid for my tourist visa. How would have the officer who let me in and stamped my passport done so if he did not see a proof of payment? Visa on credit? I was lucky a had thrown a receipt in my backpack (the officer thought i has thrown it away), i presented it and the officer shamefully let me leave
I had my yellow fever vaccination!
Funny Ethiopia story!
I have always wondered about transit visas but the intention is that you travel the shortest route to your final destination and your intention for stopping in the country is solely for the purpose of this transit. If immigration thinks you want to visit the country as a tourist as part of a multi-country trip, then technically it can be seen as a tourist visit, which this guy did. immigration apply some judgement/discretion here The rules could be perhaps be clearer. At http://evisa.go.ke/services/TransitVisa they mention you don’t need any visa at all if you stay airside at airport but you do if you pass through immigration..
I’ve never been to Kenya but no issues on Ghana, Nigeria and Benin (all with visit/tourist visas though) No bribes no problems.
You are absolutely right Mathews was supposed to be a tourist visa and his story does not say immigration demanded a bribe. Once there are doubts about the reason for your entry anywhere including USA you are put aside until the rest of the passagers Are cleared then you are interviewed. Remember it takes months for Kenyans to get American visas even for visits and they pay close to 200 dollars.
Obviously in your whole story you have painted this airport as a very bad place to travel through though that is your opinion
I’m not sure that is the intention. Visas in Kenya seem to be based on time – the longer you stay, the more expensive the visa. Thus, the time limit of the transit visa (72 hours) helps explain why it is cheaper.
Mathew, thanks for visiting Kenya, but your Blog is written from the perspective of someone who had a preconceived mind that they’d be asked for bribes. You think a $5 tip that you gave without coercion and after getting your visa stamped is a bribe? Why didn’t you just decline to tip? After all, you already had your visa sorted?
This is such a supremacist attitude about places that are unlike yours that you might want to tone down a little esp because you engage in traveling. Kenya definitely has corrupt people, but those are available in every country, so calm down a little and stop trying too hard to confirm you innate biases about developing nations.
Why should I be asked for a tip for someone to do their job who is in a position of authority, kept me waiting for an hour, and had the ability, if I said, no, to drag me back in on some other trumped up claim? I do get around…144 countries…and the “tip” is rarely a suggestion.
This is an everyday occurrence in Africa, the shakedown for the slightest (real, perceived, or conjured) transgression and should be expected. That the traveler was not just “transiting” in the strictest definition of the word was an unnecessary risk; especially for a few dollars more.
African countries were far better off under their former colonial masters, whether British, French or whomever. Most of the continent is murderous at worst and incompetent at best.
Strange! From the photos in the quoted story i see no immigration reflector yellow jacket.Further if the conversation quoted is verbatim ,i can say with authority Kenyan immigration officers speak impeccable English not what is quoted.I have friends visiting Kenya and i never heard of that before.Like i said Strange!
*shrug*
You’re free to draw your own conclusions – but I did not exaggerate this account in the least.
Wambui, you are right. This story has too many inconsistencies, I hope it isn’t fiction to make a certain audience happy. We speak impeccable English, all our airports have free WiFi (JKIA Free hotspot, MIA Free hotspot, even Kisumu has free WiFi and these have been available for a while) once you have your Visa and have been processed, you tip/bribe if you wish. Anyway, the story has to be negative to make it interesting.
You are a liar. Wifi did not work and English was broken.
I feel that you had a choice of not giving a tip, tipping someone is a choice thets not a bribe, secondly you are wrong taking selfies of people and uploading on the internet without there consent, if it were me I would sue you. Great observation on your side.
Matt is providing a public service in raising awareness about corruption and possible ways to mitigate it (get a tourist visa in order to avoid a corrupt officer from pretending a transit visa doesn’t allow “tourism”) but..
I think like your experience with the United FA who threw you off of a flight to complain to the authorities at UA, you should use your position as a blogger to provide feedback to the Kenyan authorities. Send a letter with multiple CC’s listed at the bottom (so they all know you aren’t just reaching out to them) to the airline, the USA consulate in the country, the Kenyan Consulate in the states notifying them that you are notifying your readers.
Of course, do this AFTER all your travel is complete to avoid retaliation.
Corruption preys upon the weak that nobody knows about. Let them wonder if the next person they target might have someone who cares about their experience.
Sorry sir you have been conned by person who is NOT a person of authority. Joseph is not an immigration officer and you should not have given him your passport to him. Imigration officers are inside the cubicle and have uniforms and never wear reflective jackets. Kenya Aerotech is a private company and is a ground handling company.
When utilizing a transit visa,most countries require you depart the country from the same city/ airport in which you entered the country.Since your outbound flight was departing Kenya from Nairobi I believe this caused your visa to be flagged.To be fair he could have ruined your itinerary,and there was no shakedown before getting you on your way.$5 is well,c’mon.LOL