Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has condemned what he termed the “harassment” of Kenyans seeking visas to travel to Nigeria, saying Nairobi is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the disparity in entry requirements between the two countries.
Sing’oei issued the remarks on Tuesday after a Kenyan raised concerns over the bureaucracy his colleague was required to undergo while applying for a Nigerian visa to attend a conference.
The Kenyan, posting on X under the username @W_Asherah, said the Nigerian visa application process was more demanding than those for several Western countries.
“By the way applying for a Nigerian Visa - you need more documents than you need for the UK, US, Schengen. And the process is longer. You even need the passport of the inviter. A colleague is applying because someone decided to host a conference in Nigeria that he has to attend,” the user said.
Responding to the post, Sing’oei said the treatment of Kenyan travellers seeking Nigerian visas was unacceptable, pointing to what he described as a lack of reciprocity between the two countries.
“The treatment of Kenyans seeking visas to Nigeria is unacceptable. While we extend visa free entry to Nigerian citizens, this is not reciprocated. The inconvenience suffered by Kenyans is unwarranted. We are pursuing the remedying of this situation with vigor at diplomatic and political levels,” Sing’oei said.
The PS tagged the Kenya High Commission in Nigeria and Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his response, signalling that the matter could be pursued through official diplomatic channels.
The dispute centres on the contrasting entry arrangements between Kenya and Nigeria.
Kenya has opened its doors to Nigerian citizens as part of its broader visa-free entry policy aimed at facilitating travel, tourism, trade and regional integration.
In July 2025, Kenya also scrapped the Electronic Travel Authorisation requirement for Nigerian citizens, allowing them to travel to Kenya without first obtaining the pre-entry approval.
The arrangement means Nigerian passport holders can enter Kenya without going through the visa application process required by many other foreign nationals.
Kenyans travelling to Nigeria, however, continue to face a visa requirement when using ordinary passports. Visa exemptions are generally limited to diplomats and holders of official passports under applicable agreements.
The Nigerian visa process can also be costly and demanding for Kenyan travellers. A single-entry visa is reported to cost about $80, while applicants have raised concerns over extensive documentation and delays.
There have also been complaints that applicants seeking multiple-entry visas are sometimes issued single-entry visas instead.
Sing’oei’s intervention could therefore revive the question of reciprocity in Kenya-Nigeria relations, particularly as the two countries seek to deepen trade, investment, people-to-people links and cooperation within Africa.
