Kenya seeks agreement with South Africa over visas

Kenya is seeking an agreement with South Africa for Kenyans to be given visas on arrival in the southern African nation.

This is one of the wide range of issues that President Uhuru Kenyatta will want addressed when he meets his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma on the sidelines of the Pan-African Parliament meeting in Pretoria.

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said an agreement would be sought to deal with the imbalance in immigration rules, trade regulations and science and cultural cooperation.

“Kenya will be seeking the indulgence of South Africa on its immigration laws [which] have had an adverse impact on Kenyans wishing to travel to South Africa. They (Kenyans) are faced with stringent visa requirements which deter smooth flow of people and goods,” the statement said.

The search for a pact between the two countries may be a signal that relations could improve. South Africa opposed Kenya’s various attempts to have African Union (AU) members pull out of the International Criminal Court in protest over Kenya’s cases.

In fact, Kenya had earlier voted for Gabonese national Jean Ping to continue as the AU Commission Chairperson at a time when South African had fronted their own, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to replace him.

The latter eventually won after two rounds of voting in 2012.

TOUGH RULES

The current issue between the two countries revolves around visas. While Kenya grants South Africans visas on arrival, South Africa doesn’t.

Last year, South Africa imposed tough rules for Kenyans seeking to visit the country, besides imposing a service charge of about Sh6,000 for applications.

Kenya had initially retaliated with similar measures but suspended them in August after South African authorities reportedly asked for talks. Those talks, however, never materialised.

Currently, South Africans coming to Kenya do not require a visa if they are in transit or plan to stay for less than 30 days. Kenyans visiting South Africa for this period do not pay visa fees either, but must part with the service charge, an arrangement Kenyans have protested.

Besides a service charge on a "free" visa, South Africans also charge visa fees of about Sh6,000 to Kenyans wishing to stay longer than 30 days, meaning a single application to stay more than 30 days will cost about Sh12,000.

It is worse for Kenyans because the new tough rules do not allow visa application from within South African borders, meaning Kenyans have to return to Kenya to apply for visa renewal.

South African authorities argued the new restrictions are meant to tame the challenge of migrants who are accused of taking away local jobs.

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Kenya and South Africa would in the next two weeks enter a Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) meant to be a forum where issues between the two countries are addressed.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his counterpart President Jacob Zuma, after holding talks on Monday, instructed their respective foreign ministers; Ms Amina Mohamed and Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, to draw up a programme for the talks.

“In the coming days, we have agreed to hold a JCC that will seek to promote political, economic and social cooperation between our two countries,” Ms Mohamed told the Nation on Monday without giving a specific date.