Chinese visitors to Kenya must buy official health insurance before flying, embassy says

Chinese citizens travelling to Kenya for a short stay must buy Kenya's officially designated inbound travel health insurance before they fly, the Chinese Embassy in Kenya said in a consular notice on 16 October 2026. A traveller without a compliant policy will be refused boarding and refused entry, because airlines and Kenyan border control both check it.

The notice gives two ways to buy the policy:

1. During the Kenya eTA application at etakenya.go.ke, choose "GetNow" on the insurance page before paying. The traveller's details are filled in automatically and payment is by Visa or Mastercard credit card.
2. Buy it beforehand on the government's eCitizen insurance portal, insurance.ecitizen.go.ke, then use the policy number, which the eTA system checks automatically.

The embassy said the rule has applied since 5 October 2026 to foreign travellers staying less than 12 months. Holders of Chinese ordinary and official-ordinary passports are not exempt. Ordinary overseas travel insurance bought in China is not accepted as a substitute.

Each adult and each infant needs a separate policy; one policy cannot be shared. The policy is valid for three months and can generally be used for repeat entries within that period, subject to the eTA and the policy terms. The embassy advises saving an electronic copy and carrying a printed one.

Neither the embassy notice nor the eCitizen portal gives a price. The visa news site VisasNews reported that on 6 October the eTA portal showed a premium of US$44 per traveller; a US$1 access fee and a payment gateway fee brought the total to US$52.

The rule is Kenya's, not China's. Gazette Notice No. 11492, published in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette on 30 July 2026 and dated 29 July, was signed by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale. It cites section 26(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, read with regulation 70(2)(b) of the Social Health Insurance Regulations, 2024.

The notice sets the minimum cover for mandatory inbound travel health insurance at US$50,000 in total. The schedule lists US$20,000 for medical expenses, US$25,000 for emergency medical transportation, US$300 for prescribed medicines, US$1,000 for mental illness and US$5,000 for repatriation of mortal remains. The policy must come from an insurer approved and licensed under the Insurance Act, Cap. 487.

The Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke put the US$50,000 minimum at about KSh 6.46 million on 7 August 2026.

The Ministry of Health said on 7 August, as quoted by Kenyans.co.ke, that a traveller who already holds cover from their country of origin meeting the gazetted limits may upload it to the eTA system instead of buying a new policy. When VisasNews tested the eTA portal on 6 October, it found no option to upload a foreign policy. The Kenyans.co.ke report also said the government would still allow travellers to obtain a compliant policy on arrival at Kenya's designated points of entry. The embassy tells Chinese travellers to buy before departure.

The eCitizen portal lists the product as Inbound Travel Health Insurance, tied to the traveller's eTA and described as for non-African travellers to Kenya.

The Kenya eTA team can be reached on +254 717 436 070 or by WhatsApp on +254 110 922 064, according to the eTA website.