Marriage in Kenya

@mattshorland76

Once your married and applying for residency you can only get a visa to remain in the country for 3 months, which you can renew for another three months, then have to leave the East African Union. Buy a return ticket for one year from UK to Kenya then after six months  when you have renewed visa go to Ethiopia for a day and return to Kenya for 3 months, Renee again, then back to UK and start the process again until you get your residency permit

@mattshorland76

This might give you more information and outlines the process according to the Marriage Act (2014).

https://cmadvocates.com/blog/registrati … n-national

A certificate of no impediment to marriage is generally a requirement unfortunately, but as this is not available for UK netionals, a 'no trace letter' from the General Register Office (£50 per 10 yrs from age 16) may be accepted by the registrar in Kenya, but I would strongly advise getting this advice directly from the registrar before spending money on this.

To touch on the comment above. After marriage, you will have no automatic right to live in Kenya as a spouse of a Kenyan citizen. 

You must be married for three years to apply for Permanent Residence and have proof that the marriage is genuine and ongoing eg. children together, joint land and property and so on.  You would need a Police Certificate of Good Conduct and to obtain that you need to have been in Kenya continuously for over 6 months.  This is where the serial single entry visa plan may fall down as you will never exceed the required 6 months.  Added to which immigration tend to be less tolerant of 'visa runs', recently.  Considering the you now must apply for the Single Entry Visa online, going to Ethiopia for 24 hours may not be realistic as it can take longer than that to approve a visa.  I have known people do visa runs and on return been given a month or less after which they must leave the country.  It's by no means a guaranteed foolproof approach.

@Longonot62

thanks but how odd… so I marry a Kenyan but I wouldn't be able to live with her continuously? That's most odd

"so I marry a Kenyan but I wouldn't be able to live with her continuously?" 

Well not without the correct permit, or on serial single entry visa/permits, as suggested above.  As a spouse you would have no automatic right just to live in Kenya with her.  There is no spouse visa in Kenya as there is in the UK, but even if you were to decide to take her to the UK, getting a spouse visa can take time and would separate you too.

If she is employed, a dependent pass might be an option - she would have to prove that she earns enough to support you and you would be unable to work in Kenya.  Prior to 2011, men were not permitted to have dependent passes (very exceptional circumstances excepted) and that old fashioned thinking is still around, making a dependent pass slightly more tricky.

If your wife is not employed/on a low wage, then you would have to apply for some type of permit, or go the serial visitors visa route, but as year 3 approaches, you'd need to find a way of getting a certificate of good conduct.

It isn't all bad news - the three years qualifying period to gain permanent residence simply involves you being and staying married - you don't have to be in Kenya in addition to this.

My wife is Kenyan by the way, so I have been through all this!!

thanks for all your feedbacks. However you guys really are scaremongers 😂 I've double checked everything with the Kenyan embassy and I can stay here. She is employed and a Kenyan citizen. Let's leave it there ! Thanks

Things have changed since 2011 then btw

@mattshorland76

Things didn't change that much in 2011 - it gave the right for men to hold Dependent Passes and introduced the right for a foreigner to obtain PR or dual citizenship and for Kenyans to hold dual citizenship.

I am not scaremongering, I am giving you the facts.  As I said, I married a Kenyan citizen and I know that you cannot remain in Kenya without a valid pass or permit - check with the Dept of Immigration if you like (the Embassy is not really the best source), but I do know what I am talking about.

As I previously stated, there is no spouse permit in Kenya, so the two options open to you are to obtain a single entry (tourist) permit every 6 months, leaving the country to renew it, or to apply for a Dependent Pass following your marriage (work prohibited in both scenarios).

The worst thing you could do is decide that you know best, not listen, assume that you can remain in Kenya, even to work on the basis of being married alone.  Sooner or later you will be caught which will result in arrest and deportation, without the softly softly approach taken by the UK

@Longonot62 I would agree with what you have said!

@mattshorland76

Matt anything to do with Kenya immigration is a nightmare. Have you met your girlfriend yet? I can tell you a lot because I was born in Kenya and I know the culture well. My advice...do your homework... Also talk to people who have actually married a girl from Kenya..

Regards

Kuldip

@Longonot62

Well said...

@mattshorland76

Hi

Sad that how the Embassies are they are very limited on what they will tell you, because they want to advise on something, and it don't go the way you think it should be and they are blamed for it.

We were denied 3 times for a visiting visa and once for fiancée visa.   I'm from USA and when my husband and I were deciding to get married in Kenya.   We were advised by the US Embassy that he would not be able to return to USA with me after getting married.   I would have to go back and file a petition for a Family member to come to the States.  Also, we would have to get marry again when come the States. 

We had to Google the information and see if you can get the information, not for sure the letter you need is for.  But my husband had to get a letter from the "police department" regarding if he had been in trouble with the government before in Kenya.

We had such a hard time while dating for him to visit me, we decided to get a Fiancée Visa for him to come the States and we finally got married 2014.

Hope this help.

Best Wishes,