Before you travel

Two different policies

Every guest now needs to think about insurance twice.

• Government inbound cover is an entry document. Kenya requires it from 5 October 2026. Mainland Tanzania requires it from 1 October 2026. Zanzibar has required it since 1 October 2024. A policy you already hold from home does not replace it. Airlines can check it before boarding, and immigration can refuse entry without it.
• Your own travel insurance is what can respond to a cancelled safari, a missed international flight, a pre-existing condition, baggage above a small limit, or a medical bill past the government caps. Imara still recommends it for every booking. Our cancellation schedule is unchanged.
• AMREF Flying Doctors evacuation is included on every Imara safari for the days you are with us in East Africa. It does not replace either policy above.

Imara does not sell the government policies and cannot issue the certificate. Buy them yourself on the official sites named below, in your own name, before you leave home.

Kenya inbound travel health insurance

Section 26(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 requires a non-Kenyan who intends to enter and remain in Kenya for less than twelve months to hold travel health insurance designated by the Cabinet Secretary for Health. Gazette Notice No. 11492 (30 July 2026) sets the minimum benefits. The requirement has been in force since 5 October 2026, including for trips booked before that date.

Who must buy it

Each traveller needs an individual certificate. There is no family or group policy. The Kenyan Embassy in Berlin (notice of 4 November 2026) lists these exemptions: Kenyan citizens; holders of valid Kenyan residence; citizens of East African Community partner states; people seeking asylum; holders of diplomatic, official or service passports; crew who meet the exemption; and transit passengers who do not pass immigration. Nationals of other African countries who are exempt from the eTA still need the insurance unless they are on that list.

The official programme FAQ says cover is available from age three, and that children under three are not compelled to hold it, though parents may buy it. The embassy notice says every traveller, including minors, needs a policy. If you are travelling with a young child, complete the official application and follow the rule the portal applies to that passport.

Where to buy it

• If you need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, buy the cover inside the application at etakenya.go.ke. Apply at least two weeks before departure.
• If you already hold a valid eTA, or you do not need an eTA, buy it at insurance.ecitizen.go.ke.

The eCitizen page states the premium is up to US$44 per person, including statutory insurance levies and stamp duty, with no separate administration charge. Pay the figure shown at checkout. Cover exists only after the premium is paid and the policy is issued, and it becomes active when you arrive. The embassy and the UK Foreign Office describe the policy as valid for 90 days and usable for more than one entry while it remains in date. If your stay runs past the certificate, buy a new one. Keep the electronic policy on your phone and a printed copy in your carry-on. Proof is checked at check-in and again on arrival. Ports can offer a QR code to buy on the spot; do not plan on that. A missing certificate can stop you boarding.

What the Kenya policy pays

The published cumulative limit is US$50,000 per person. The limits are not shared across a family, and they are not reduced because the trip is short. The programme FAQ states there is no excess. The territorial limit is Kenya.

The same FAQ says the policy does not cover pre-existing conditions unless the insurer has accepted them, trip cancellation, routine or elective care, normal pregnancy, high-risk or professional sports, or treatment after the policy expires. Anything above the limit is yours to pay. The published 24-hour claims contact is +254 719 044 777. The programme FAQ says a full refund of the premium is available if you cancel the policy before travel starts, and that no refund is paid after a claim. That refund comes from the insurer, not from Imara.

Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar

The Insurance (Inbound Travel Insurance) Regulations, 2026 were published as Government Notice No. 256 on 4 September 2026, under the Insurance Act, Cap. 394, as amended by the Finance Act 2025. They apply to a foreigner entering mainland Tanzania by land, sea or air. The Ministry of Finance set the start date at 1 October 2026. Zanzibar has required inbound cover from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation since 1 October 2024.

Buy one policy for the journey, from the insurer that matches your first point of entry. A Zanzibar Insurance Corporation notice of 7 October 2026 says a visitor should not buy a second policy merely because the itinerary includes both the mainland and Zanzibar.

• Mainland first: National Insurance Corporation at inbound.nicinsurance.co.tz.
• Zanzibar first: Zanzibar Insurance Corporation at inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz.

The regulations set the premium at the Tanzania shilling equivalent of US$44. The policy lasts up to 92 days from arrival and can cover repeat entries in that window. Stay longer and you need a new policy. You may buy before travel or at the entry point; buy before you fly. A foreigner who arrives without a valid policy shall be denied entry. The premium is non-refundable except on cancellation or where the policy itself allows a refund. Keep the certificate and QR code for the whole trip. If you need care, you deal with the insurer you bought from.

The benefits named in the regulations are emergency medical treatment, emergency medical evacuation, emergency repatriation and loss of luggage. The dollar limits are on the certificate you are issued. Do not assume they match Kenya's schedule.

The NIC and ZIC purchase pages publish a lower charge for children, and NIC has published no charge for the youngest children plus a discount for larger groups. Those figures move. Pay what the official page asks on the day.

Qualifying travellers from East African Community and SADC partner states are exempt from the mainland requirement. The Zanzibar notice says that exemption does not automatically exempt you from Zanzibar's rule. If the portal asks you to pay, pay. If it shows an exemption, keep the confirmation.

Your own travel insurance

Buy a separate policy from an insurer you trust, in addition to the government certificate. Ask it to include:

• Trip cancellation and curtailment, at least up to the amount you have paid Imara.
• Cancel-for-any-reason cover if you want protection inside the final 14 days, when our fee is 100% of the package.
• Medical expenses above the government caps, and cover for conditions the government policy excludes.
• Emergency evacuation from remote parks. A single air evacuation can pass US$25,000.
• Luggage and high-value camera equipment, if you are carrying it.
• Activities on your itinerary, including balloon flights, walking safaris or a Kilimanjaro climb if those are booked.

Send us the emergency assistance number with your pre-departure details. We cannot claim on your policy for you.

Passport, permission to enter, and yellow fever

• Carry a passport with at least six months of validity beyond the date you arrive, and spare blank pages. Kenya's advice to arriving travellers includes two blank pages. Renew before bush flights are ticketed if you are close to expiry. A reported lost or stolen passport will be refused.
• Kenya uses an electronic travel authorisation, applied for at etakenya.go.ke before travel. An unexpired visa already in the passport can still be used until it expires. Tanzania issues its own visa, online or on arrival for many nationalities. The East Africa Tourist Visa covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. It does not cover Tanzania. A combined Kenya–Tanzania safari needs both permissions, and usually both inbound policies.
• Yellow fever: Kenya requires a certificate if you arrive from a country with a risk of transmission. Tanzania requires one when you arrive from a risk country, which includes Kenya and Uganda, so the Namanga, Isebania and Nairobi–Kilimanjaro routes need the card. Uganda's Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control said on 2 October 2026 that a yellow fever certificate is no longer mandatory for entry into Uganda. Some older Ugandan pages still mention it. Rwanda sets its own requirement. A clinic should vaccinate you at least ten days before travel. A valid certificate is recognised for life. Our packing checklist used to say the card was required for all four countries on every trip. That was too broad. Pack it when your route needs it, and ask the clinic if you are unsure.

The full packing list, including soft bags for light aircraft, is on the packing checklist.

Other changes since the last site update

• Park fees. Kenya Wildlife Service and the Tanzania park authorities have both revised non-resident tariffs through 2025 and 2026. We do not reprint those tariffs here, because they move. A written Imara confirmation holds your rate, except where a later government park-fee or tax increase has to be passed on. We tell you before the balance is due. You can accept the adjustment or cancel under the published schedule.
• Drones. Importing or exporting a drone in Kenya without prior approval from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority is illegal. Apply to the KCAA well before travel, or leave the aircraft at home.
• Health screening on arrival. British travel advice current in November 2026 says some people landing in Kenya, particularly those coming from Uganda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, may face extra health screening. Allow time on a tight connection and read your own government's travel advice in the week you fly.
• Malaria tablets, insect repellent, a warm layer for dawn drives, and neutral colours are unchanged. Laundry is available at most camps, so the 15 kg soft-bag limit on bush flights is still the constraint that matters.

If you cannot board or enter

Passports, visas, eTAs, vaccination certificates and both kinds of insurance are your responsibility. If an airline or an immigration officer refuses you because one of them is missing or wrong, Imara is not able to refund the safari as if we had cancelled it. The date you tell us in writing is the cancellation date, and the cancellation schedule applies. A no-show on the day of departure is a 100% fee. Any refund of a government premium is claimed from that insurer, under that policy, and is outside the Imara refund policy.

The same rule is written into the safari booking terms. This page explains the public rules. It is not a legal opinion, and it does not change a government notice.

Sources checked 9 November 2026

• Embassy of Kenya, Berlin — mandatory inbound travel health insurance, 4 November 2026
• eCitizen Insurance — Kenya inbound travel health insurance
• Kenya eTA — Gazette Notice No. 11492 notice
• UK Foreign Office — Kenya entry requirements
• Insurance (Inbound Travel Insurance) Regulations, 2026 — GN No. 256
• Embassy of Tanzania, Rome — mainland start date 1 October 2026
• Zanzibar Insurance Corporation — public notice, 7 October 2026
• Uganda immigration — yellow fever certificate notice, 2 October 2026