No visa needed

Do citizens of Ethiopia need a visa for Kenya?

Citizens of Ethiopia don’t need a visa for Kenya and can stay up to 90 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 Ethiopia: the passport opens 12 countries visa-free; Addis Ababa — Nairobi: ≈ 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: 90 days

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

Yes, citizens of Ethiopia don’t need a visa for Kenya for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Kenya visa rules at a glance

With a Ethiopia passport you can visit 12 countries visa-free, 28 with a visa on arrival and 53 with an e-visa; 105 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Ethiopia passport ranks 189th of 199.
Ethiopia passport: visa-free access to 12 countries; Kenya passport: 38.
Citizens of Ethiopia and Kenya can travel together visa-free to 11 countries, for example: Rwanda, Seychelles, Benin, Gambia, Singapore, Philippines, Barbados, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, and Micronesia.
Ethiopia and Kenya share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Kenya, in turn, don’t need a visa for Ethiopia. Ethiopia visa for citizens of Kenya

Travelling to Kenya: good to know

Addis Ababa — Nairobi: 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: Kenyan Shilling.
Languages: English and Swahili.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ KES 130.
Kenya is the 7th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Ethiopia.