The Chinese Embassy in Nairobi has extended the fingerprint collection exemption for Kenyans seeking short-term visas to the Asian country.
The exemption according to the Chinese embassy will run until December 2025.
The move excludes the collection of fingerprints for anyone visiting China for not more than 6 months.
This will apply to both single and multiple-entry visa applicants.
“From September 2, 2024, to December 31, 2025, the Embassy of China in Kenya exempts all applicants who apply for single or double-entry short-term visas (stay in China for no more than 180 days) from fingerprints collection,” the Embassy said in a communique.
Some beneficiaries are people travelling for business, tourist, family visits, transit, or crew visas.
The program was last extended in December last year.
The Chinese Embassy in Nairobi offers five kinds of visas to Kenyan nationals including Single entry valid for three months, Double entry valid for six months, a Multi entry valid for six months and a Multi entry valid for 12 months, and Group L visas.
This coming at a time that the number of Chinese tourists bounding for Kenya is projected to triple over the next few years, following a surge in arrivals to the East African country last year, according to the tourism authority in Kenya.
Kenya’s tourism sector, a pillar industry, sees a huge opportunity in the Chinese market, and the country will intensify cooperation with industry players in China to tap the potential, June Chepkemei, the chief executive officer of the Kenya Tourism Board, said on Wednesday.
Tourism arrivals from China last year exceeded 52,000, a 161 percent growth compared with 2022, she said.
