US raises Kenya travel advisory to Level 3 over Ebola: it is not a ban, but travel sellers should update these checks
The US moved Kenya to Level 3, Reconsider Travel, on 19 Oct 2026, citing health risks. It is not a ban. Here is what OTAs, airlines and TMCs should check now.
The US State Department moved Kenya from Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution) to Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) on 19 October 2026. The US Embassy in Nairobi said the level "was changed from Level 2 to Level 3 due to health risks". The advisory now adds health to crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest and traffic safety.
The trigger is the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. CDC has issued a Travel Health Notice for Kenya after the Kenyan Ministry of Health confirmed an imported case and linked cases in Nairobi. Reuters reported on 19 October that Kenya had confirmed an eighth infection the day before.
A Level 3 advisory is guidance for US citizens. It does not close Kenya, and it does not stop anyone from flying there.
What changed and what did not
ItemStatus on 20 October 2026
US State Department advisory for KenyaLevel 3, Reconsider Travel (was Level 2). Issued 19 Oct 2026
Level 4 "Do Not Travel" areas listed in the advisoryNairobi's Eastleigh and Kibera; Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Lamu and Tana River counties (except Tsavo National Park); Kilifi north of highway C103 and the coast north of Malindi; West Pokot and western Turkana; Marsabit and Turkana within 50 km of the Ethiopian border
CDC Travel Health Notice for KenyaLevel 1, Practice Usual Precautions (Bundibugyo virus disease)
CDC entry suspension into the USDoes not cover Kenya. It covers non-US citizens who were in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days, until 4:59 p.m. EDT on 10 November 2026
Kenya entry documentsUnchanged: eTA before travel, passport valid 6 months beyond arrival with 2 blank pages, yellow fever certificate if arriving from an endemic country
Kenya health measuresScreening and a health declaration for everyone entering or leaving (Kenya's Public Health (Ebola Disease) Rules of 12 October). Extra electronic form for travellers coming from 10 countries (see below)
The health form now covers 10 countries
The State Department page says travellers from the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda, and from countries it lists as elevated risk (Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Zambia), must complete Kenya's Electronic Traveler Health Surveillance Form before leaving the aircraft. The airline or the port of entry provides the QR code, and these travellers may also face temperature screening. RwandAir's travel alert lists the same 10 countries and asks passengers to fill in the form before they fly.
The KCAA circular published in May (AIC 07/26) named only the DRC and Uganda. We have not found a newer KCAA circular online as of 20 October, so use the 10-country list from the State Department and carrier notices, and re-check with your airline partners.
What this means for travel sellers
OTAs
Keep selling Kenya. Do not label it a "travel ban" in banners or emails. That is wrong, and it leads to cancellations your team then has to handle.
Update the pre-trip message for Kenya: eTA, Kenya's mandatory visitor health insurance, the screening and health declaration on entry and exit, and the electronic form for anyone coming from the 10 countries above.
Check combined itineraries. A Kenya safari with gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda, or a connection through Addis Ababa, Kigali, Dar es Salaam or Entebbe, can bring the form requirement into play. A Kenya trip followed by a US flight is only hit by the CDC suspension if the traveller was in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.
Check how your insurance partner treats a Level 3 advisory and a declared epidemic. Policy wording varies, and some policies limit cover for known outbreaks. Know the answer before a customer asks.
TMCs
Many corporate travel policies need extra approval for Level 3 destinations. Flag new Kenya bookings for US-based travellers so the approval step runs before ticketing, not after.
Send travellers the Level 4 neighbourhoods and counties. Eastleigh and Kibera are inside Nairobi, so a hotel or meeting address matters.
Airlines and their agents
Make sure the form link reaches passengers originating in the 10 countries before departure, in the booking confirmation and at check-in.
A Level 3 advisory does not by itself create a refund right. Follow your own waiver policy and say so clearly in customer service scripts.
How SimpleVisa handles it
Kenya's eTA, insurance and health-form rules are in the SimpleVisa requirements data, so the traveller sees them in the same flow as the eTA. If you use coverage alerts, Kenya changes go out as one email per change. Teams on the API can pull the current requirement set for each itinerary leg rather than hard-coding a country list.
Loris Mazloum founded SimpleVisa and writes the coverage notes on this blog for airlines, OTAs, and other travel companies. Each note is checked against the government source named at the bottom before it publishes. SimpleVisa keeps requirement data for 190+ destinations and files applications where a government channel exists.
