No visa needed

Do citizens of Kenya need a visa for Ethiopia?

Citizens of Kenya don’t need a visa for Ethiopia and can stay up to 360 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Kenya: the passport opens 38 countries visa-free; Nairobi — Addis Ababa: ≈ 1,170 km, about 2 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 360 days

Can I travel to Ethiopia without a visa on a Kenya passport?

Yes, citizens of Kenya don’t need a visa for Ethiopia for up to 360 days. A valid passport is enough.

Ethiopia visa rules at a glance

With a Kenya passport you can visit 38 countries visa-free, 25 with a visa on arrival and 43 with an e-visa; 92 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Kenya passport ranks 127th of 199.
Kenya passport: visa-free access to 38 countries; Ethiopia passport: 12.
Citizens of Kenya and Ethiopia can travel together visa-free to 11 countries, for example: Rwanda, Seychelles, Benin, Gambia, Singapore, Philippines, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Haiti, and Micronesia.
Kenya and Ethiopia share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Ethiopia, in turn, don’t need a visa for Kenya. Kenya visa for citizens of Ethiopia

Travelling to Ethiopia: good to know

Nairobi — Addis Ababa: about 1,170 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 2 hours.
No time difference with your country’s capital.
Local currency: Ethiopian Birr.
Languages: Amharic.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ ETB 163.
Ethiopia is the 7th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Kenya.