Kenya visa photo requirements
The photo rules set by Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA for the Kenya visa, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What are the Kenya visa photo requirements?
Most visitors to Kenya now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), which replaced the eVisa platform on 5 January 2024. The online eTA form asks for a selfie or a passport-type photo, and publishes no size, background or file limit. Foreigners staying to work, study or join family apply on the eFNS portal instead, where the Special Pass and Student's Pass ask for an uploaded recent colour passport-size photo and the Dependant's Pass for two.
Kenya's Electronic Travel Authorisation is run by the Directorate of Immigration Services. It is a semi-automated system that checks whether a visitor is eligible to travel; an approved eTA is permission to travel, not a guarantee of entry, which is decided at the border. Kenya's embassy in Washington explains that the eTA portal replaced the previous eVisa platform from 5 January 2024, and the eTA site's own answers describe it as replacing traditional visa requirements for most travellers.
All visitors, infants and children included, need an approved eTA before the journey, unless they are exempt under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Rules, 2025. The exemptions cover holders of Kenyan permanent residence, valid work permits and passes, citizens of the East African partner states for up to 180 days, nationals of a list of countries for up to 90 or 60 days, airside transit passengers, crews and holders of certain laissez-passers.
The eTA collects your biographic details, your answers to eligibility questions and a photo. Longer stays are not covered: work permits and passes are applied for separately on the eFNS portal, with their own photo requirement.
Kenya visa photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA:[1]
| Print size | eTA: no size published; it asks for a selfie or a passport-type photo |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No pixel size published; the photo is uploaded in the online form |
| Background | Not published for the eTA or for permit uploads |
| Colour | eTA: not stated; Special, Student's and Dependant's Passes: colour photos |
| Photo age | eTA: not stated; passes ask for a recent or current photo |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
Selfie or passport-type photo
Key requirements
- A selfie is accepted
The eTA checklist lists a selfie or passport-type photo alongside a passport valid for at least six months with one blank page, contact details, your arrival and departure itinerary, accommodation booking confirmation and a means of payment.
- One eTA per traveller
Every passenger needs an individual eTA, so every traveller needs their own photo. Groups and couples can use the Apply as a Group option, and someone may apply on another person's behalf if they say so when finishing the application.
- No published photo specification
The eTA website gives no size, background, file format or file size for the photo. It names only two options, a selfie or a passport-type photo, and states no other condition for either.
- Apply only on the official channels
The eTA site says applications must be made only on its official website or the Kenya Travel Authorisation mobile app, for each person who intends to travel.
- Permits and passes: upload on eFNS
Every permit and pass application is made online on the eFNS portal with its requirements uploaded. The Special Pass asks for an uploaded current colour passport-size photo, the Student's Pass for recent colour passport-size photos, and the Dependant's Pass for two current colour passport-size photos of the dependant.
- Exempt travellers need no eTA photo
Holders of Kenyan permanent residence, valid work permits and passes, or a re-entry pass are exempt, as are East African citizens for up to 180 days and the nationals listed for 90 or 60 days.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Apply at least two weeks before you travel.
- Have a selfie or passport-type photo ready before you start.
- Submit a separate eTA, with its own photo, for each traveller.
- Keep the approved eTA PDF printed or on your phone.
- Check the exemption list before applying.
- Upload colour passport-size photos for a pass on eFNS.
Don't
- Do not apply through unofficial websites.
- Do not travel before your eTA has been approved.
- Do not reuse one photo for several travellers in a group.
- Do not assume an eTA covers work or study.
Babies and children
Infants and children need an approved eTA of their own, unless their nationality is exempt, so each child needs a photo in the application. A parent can complete it for them, choosing Apply as a Group when the family travels together, and the site allows one person to apply for others as long as the traveller's details are theirs.
For a longer stay, a child who will study needs a Student's Pass: for minors the eFNS application adds a consent letter from the parents, a copy of a parent's passport and the child's birth certificate, along with recent colour passport-size photos. Children of Kenyan citizens, permit holders and permanent residents can hold a Dependant's Pass, which asks for two current colour passport-size photos of the dependant.
Printed and digital photos
The eTA is entirely digital. The photo is uploaded in the online form, and the approved eTA comes back by email as a PDF that you print, download to your phone or save in the Kenya Travel Authorisation app. It must be shown at departure and arrival points.
Permits and passes also go in online: the eFNS portal takes the photo as an upload with the other requirements. Once a permit or pass is issued, you print it from eFNS and present it to an immigration office for endorsement. A digital photo can be cropped and resized to a passport-type portrait before you upload it.
Where to submit the photo
Apply on the official eTA website by choosing Apply Now, or through the Kenya Travel Authorisation app. Processing usually takes three working days, and an expedited option is processed immediately; the Directorate recommends applying at least two weeks before travel. Emails confirm receipt, payment and the decision, and you can check the status with the reference number on the site. The eTA is valid for travel within 90 days from the date of issue, and the length of your stay is set at the point of entry.
Work permits and passes are applied for on the Directorate's eFNS portal, not through the eTA. Diplomats accredited to Kenya complete an eTA in the diplomatic category, which needs no fee for standard processing.
How to get your Kenya visa photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Kenya visa. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: a selfie is accepted; one eTA per traveller; no published photo specification; apply only on the official channels.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The eTA is entirely digital. The photo is uploaded in the online form, and the approved eTA comes back by email as a PDF that you print, download to your phone or save in the Kenya Travel Authorisation app. It must be shown at departure and arrival points.
- Submit the photo with your application. Apply on the official eTA website by choosing Apply Now, or through the Kenya Travel Authorisation app.
Kenya visa photo FAQ
A selfie or a passport-type photo, uploaded in the online application. The eTA website does not publish a size, background colour, file format or file limit for it, and it sets no further condition on either option.
For most short visits, no. The eTA site says the eTA replaces traditional visa requirements for most travellers, and Kenya's Washington embassy says the eTA portal replaced the eVisa platform from 5 January 2024. Work, study and residence are handled through permits and passes on eFNS.
Yes, unless the baby is exempt by nationality. The eTA site says all visitors, including infants and children, need an approved eTA, and each passenger needs their own. A parent can apply for the child, and families can use the group application.
No size is published. The eTA checklist asks only for a selfie or passport-type photo, and neither the How to Apply page nor the FAQs give dimensions, pixels or a file size.
Holders of Kenyan permanent residence, valid work permits and passes, re-entry passes, East African partner state citizens for up to 180 days, nationals of listed countries for up to 90 or 60 days, airside transit passengers, crews and certain laissez-passer holders.
The eTA is valid for travel within 90 days from the date it is issued. The length of your stay is decided by the immigration officer at the point of entry, and an eTA does not guarantee admission.
Applications go through the eFNS portal with every requirement uploaded. The Special Pass asks for a current colour passport-size photo, the Student's Pass for recent colour passport-size photos, and the Dependant's Pass for two current colour passport-size photos of the dependant.
Related photo specifications
Other Kenya documents
- Passport photo 2 × 2 in
Visas and travel authorisations nearby
- Comoros visa photo 50 × 70 mm
- Djibouti visa photo 40 × 30 mm
- Ethiopia eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- Ethiopia visa photo 30 × 40 mm
- Madagascar visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Mozambique visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Rwanda visa photo 40 × 40 mm
- Tanzania visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Uganda visa photo
- Zambia visa photo 2 × 2 in
- All Kenya photo specifications
- Visas and travel authorisations: photo rules by country
- Photo specifications in Africa
Official sources
- Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA. How to Apply etakenya.go.ke. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA. General Information etakenya.go.ke. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA. FAQs etakenya.go.ke. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA. How to Apply (tourists and visitors) etakenya.go.ke. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Republic of Kenya, Washington DC. eVisa (eTA replaces eVisa from 5 January 2024) kenyaembassydc.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Directorate of Immigration Services, Kenya eTA before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Kenya visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/kenya/visa-photo