It is not a new online visa, nor is it an entry fee; it is not compulsory, but it saves you from wasting time unnecessarily.

It is a health procedure introduced by the Kenyan authorities as part of the control measures against the Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in the region. It is a formality that can save you a lot of time once you have landed.

The Kenyan health authorities have made it compulsory to complete the Traveller Health Surveillance Form, an online health form intended for passengers arriving from certain countries in East and Central Africa, as part of enhanced surveillance measures for the virus which, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a country that does not share a border with Kenya – has already killed more than 1,300 people.

The requirement is in place, but applies only to passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

Those who are simply transiting through these countries before reaching Kenya are, however, strongly advised to complete the form, to avoid having to do so on arrival in the country and being placed in a separate queue for immigration procedures.

For this reason, this new requirement may also affect many Italian travellers who choose to fly to Nairobi or Mombasa with Ethiopian Airlines, with a stopover in Addis Ababa. Although the journey originates in Italy, simply transiting through the Ethiopian airport is sufficient to fall into the category of passengers required to complete the form.

Several travellers have already reported checks and delays on arrival precisely because they had not completed the registration.

The advice, therefore, is simple: even those departing from Italy and flying to Kenya via Addis Ababa would be well advised to complete the form before departure, thereby avoiding potential delays and long waits at airport health checks.

The system is very similar to the one used during the Covid emergency. You need to register an account, log in and complete the online health questionnaire. At the end of the procedure, a QR code is generated, which must be shown to Port Health officials on arrival at Kenyan airports.

The form is available directly on the Kenyan Ministry of Health’s website at:

https://adam.health.go.ke

According to the health authorities, failure to complete the form does not necessarily prevent entry into the country, but it does result in additional checks and may cause unnecessary delays in disembarkation procedures.

This is a preventive measure adopted as part of efforts to strengthen regional health surveillance in order to limit the risk of Ebola spreading via air travel. For those travelling from Italy to Kenya, it takes just a few minutes before your journey to avoid any inconvenience and start your holiday without wasting time at the first security check at the airport.