Visa extensions

The Foreigners Certificate (Alien Card) is simply an ID card.  It isn't a permit to reside in Kenya, neither is it a visa in its own right.  You are supposed to register for it if/when you apply to extend your single entry visa for a further 3 months and is a legal requirement actually.  The ID card may or may not be issued within the further 3 month period.  It is the process of registration that is crucial.

On expiry of 6 months on an extended single entry visa, you are legally obliged to leave Kenya (and the East African Community countries).  There is no set time limit for which you must stay out of the country and it has been common practice for foreigners to do 'visa runs' to places such as Addis for a day or so.  However, Kenyan immigration have taken an increasingly dim view of this practice and you may well find yourself being 'stamped in' for a few days only.   

Bear in mind that when you apply for a single entry visa, you sign a legal declaration that you intend to return to your home country when your visa expires!

Don't overstay, it WILL lead to arrest and being arraigned in court - it is a serious offence in Kenya and your responsibility to check on arrival, whether your entry permit states 3 months or 1 month (increasingly it's 1 month, on arrival, which can then be extended to 3 months at immigration).

If you want to live in Kenya, if you are not yet married, your only course of action, apart from serially applying for Single Entry Visas, is to apply for a Class K Permit, for which you need funds of min $24,000 per annum, derived from sources other than work in Kenya.  This permit costs in the region of £1600 for 2 years.  The application can take around 3 months, so be prepared to fly home if your visa expires in the meantime - it is illegal to remain in Kenya without a valid visa, permit, or pass.

Once married and assuming that your spouse is working and can support you (evidence will be required), you could apply for a Dependent Pass - a much cheaper option.

I hope that this helps.

Hi
Thanks for your reply and all the information.
I was today at immigration, as I found that I was issued with just 1 month at arrivals, even though I bought an E-visa and gave my arrival and departure dates which was 2 months bar a few days!

I was amazed at how quickly I was seen, and no questions as to why I was late renewing, though the crutch I was using and by hand bandaged my have given him a clue! also I was charged no money for the extension.

I asked him about the Alien visa and was told that to obtain this certificate I would have to invest and set up a company here, something that I cannot afford to do at this time

I have also just received  information that I could set up a charity or foundation and get a Class 1 Permit.

What the cost would be, I do not know, but when I was living in Czech Republic I did set up a Charity there and was not an expensive move, just a bit complicated.

The other solution would be after we are married to spend 6 months in Kenya and 6 in the UK,  when I arrived here we stayed in an airbnb and the owners a Brit and his Kenyan wife told us that this is what they do and have done for the past decade..

So am returning to Blighty on the 22nd August to re-group, and see which is the best path to take. Of course if I could increase my income to £1500 pcm for 6 consecutive months then to get her to the UK.

Many thanks for all your help.

ATB Tony

PS. Having my fall certainly has brought the matter of health care to the top of my list, I have always praised the NHS  and my recent fall has made me realise just how important it is! Today I took the bandage off my finger and arm, no back up from the  Doc, so will have to hope self heal and aftercare will do the trick

Being issued with a 30 day entry permit, on arrival is the 'new normal' and has been for most of this year, irrespective of the length of stay you have identified.  I think that, at the moment, a lot of people are being caught out by the one month issue, so they are probably not making a huge issue of it, but had you tried to leave at the end of your stay, it may have been different.

"I asked him about the Alien visa"  There is no such thing as an Alien visa.  You were being advised about a Class G Permit, when it would have been more useful to have advised you about the Class K Permit. 

Starting a charity in Kenya is also quite complicated and if it is suspected that it is a route to you residing in Kenya, then this may well affect things.

@vgoons

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