Tips for average person moving to Kenya to live and work?

Hello, I am from the UK and married to a Kenyan citizen.

Did you got a job? If yes, how did you get the job and the permits?

I tried before things got tougher and even secured a job offer, but was unable to get a work permit. 

Now, you cannot secure a work permit while you are in Kenya.  If you secure employment, the work permit must be applied for from your home country.  It would be a huge advantage if you are skilled in a skill that is in short supply in Kenya - policy has increasingly shifted towards drawing on the local pool of skilled workers, rather than hiring foreigners.

I also don't think that a work permit is a reasonable solution to becoming a long term resident, as these are normally issued for 2 years, with the expectation that a local worker will be skilled up to fill the role at the end of that period.

To start a business and obtain a permit for that requires a huge amount of capital, so unless you have $100,000 plus available, this not the right route for you.

You could consider a Class K permit.  This prohibits employment, and it is issued on condition that you are over 35yrs and have an assured annual income of $24000. To quote from Immigration: 

"being an income that either; Is derived from sources outside, and will be remitted to Kenya; or Is derived from pension or annuity payable from, sources in Kenya". 

A lump sum of savings will not get you this permit, unless it is invested to provide and income.   The permit costs Ksh 100,000 per year and is generally issued for 2 year periods.

It would take 7 years before you can apply for permanent residency, the last three years of which, you should have been resident in Kenya.  If you are married to a Kenyan citizen, then this is reduced to 3 years.

Oh, we are under the impression that my husband(British) will be automatically allowed to claim citizenship and acquire a kenyan passport 🤔 I am Kenyan.

Unfortunately this isnt the case at all.  Immigration rules don't make things very straightforward.  The main advantage of being married to a Kenyan is that it considerably shortens the timescale for being eligible for PR or citizenship.

To apply for PR or citizenship, you have to have a certificate of good conduct from Kenya Police and this cannot be applied for unless you have been in Kenya for in excess of 6 months; ie. you cannot obtain this if you are there on a tourist visa.

If you can obtain employment in Kenya, then your husband would be eligible for a Dependent Pass.  Alternatively, probably the easiest route is for your husband (assuming he is over 35) to apply for a Class K Permit - for this he will need to provide evidence of an income of $24,000 per annum, derived from sources other than employment (investment, rent, pension etc).  The permit itself is Ksh 200,000.

Once the Certificate of Good Conduct has been obtained, the process of application for PR, or citizenship can commence.  I believe that the application process for both is quite lengthy.  I also understand the PR can be revoked if the holder spends significant time out of Kenya, once obtained.

Please note, that with either a Dependent Pass, or Class K Permit, work of any kind is not permitted................I got really bored and frustrated due to this.

Oh wow.  That's really contradictory to
what the constitutional rights are. All very confusing.  Tha is alot for taking the time to reply to my question.  Honestly it makes the overpriced UK citizenship look like a walk in the park!! http://kenya.org.za/Forms/form%207%20by … spouse.pdf

Sure the constitutional rights technically make it easier, but you still have to meet the requirements and its not an automatic process.  Here are a list of the requirements (from the Immigration website) and you will see that one of them is to be holding a Dependent Pass, or some type of permit at the time of application.

What are the requirements
A printed online application form 8 (Print the form after completing your application)
2 passport size photographs
Copy of marriage certificate
Certificate of good conduct
A joint sworn affidavit
Copy of dependants pass/permit
Copy of applicant’s passport
Copy of spouses Kenyan passport
Questionnaire for intending applicants (Print the questionnaire after completing your application)
Copy of the Police Clearance Certificate
Copy of Checklist. click here to download

I noticed in the requirements for a dependent pass that it states that the Kenyan partner needs to have adequate funds...do you know what the definition of adequate funds is? And does that need to be regular income or can it be in the form of savings?

As far as I am aware there is no definition of what adequate funds are in this case, but it does need to be enough to live on.  It should be income rather than savings, as savings can easily be spend very quickly, though I believe that the whole financial picture is looked at.

Thanks for the reply. My Kenyan fiancé is struggling with work at the moment as he usually works in tourism, whereas I am earning an excellent wage with considerable savings outside of Kenya. We’ll just need to apply and see what happens I think.

The Dependent Pass is only issued to someone assumed to be dependent upon a partner or parent, so your own financial circumstances would be most likely be irrelevant.

Longonot62 wrote:

Unfortunately this isnt the case at all.  Immigration rules don't make things very straightforward.  The main advantage of being married to a Kenyan is that it considerably shortens the timescale for being eligible for PR or citizenship.

To apply for PR or citizenship, you have to have a certificate of good conduct from Kenya Police and this cannot be applied for unless you have been in Kenya for in excess of 6 months; ie. you cannot obtain this if you are there on a tourist visa.

If you can obtain employment in Kenya, then your husband would be eligible for a Dependent Pass.  Alternatively, probably the easiest route is for your husband (assuming he is over 35) to apply for a Class K Permit - for this he will need to provide evidence of an income of $24,000 per annum, derived from sources other than employment (investment, rent, pension etc).  The permit itself is Ksh 200,000.

Once the Certificate of Good Conduct has been obtained, the process of application for PR, or citizenship can commence.  I believe that the application process for both is quite lengthy.  I also understand the PR can be revoked if the holder spends significant time out of Kenya, once obtained.

Please note, that with either a Dependent Pass, or Class K Permit, work of any kind is not permitted................I got really bored and frustrated due to this.

I had all that figured out while I stayed with my wife in Kenya, and Kenyan government doesn't really have anything concerning family unlike in my country.
I found out that the best way would just be for her to come to my country and we stay in my country until 7 years of marriage are completed then I can decide to become Kenyan citizen and work or do business.
In my country Family Reunion permit is only 80 USD and she can work or do business as she is an indigenous to the country I live in.

In Kenya I figured $100.000,- is the magic number in many applications.

Longonot62 wrote:

As far as I am aware there is no definition of what adequate funds are in this case, but it does need to be enough to live on.  It should be income rather than savings, as savings can easily be spend very quickly, though I believe that the whole financial picture is looked at.

The number must definitely be above 100.000 because that is a magic number for the government of Kenya. There is no clear answer to dependent pass. I am searching now for more than 2 years

Faith73 wrote:

Thanks for the reply. My Kenyan fiancé is struggling with work at the moment as he usually works in tourism, whereas I am earning an excellent wage with considerable savings outside of Kenya. We’ll just need to apply and see what happens I think.

For you, you are a lady I guess, the situation may be different because a woman marries to the country of the man. Mostly believed in Africa.
For Nigeria, for example, I know, that a foreign woman will receive Nigerian citizenship within 6 months of being married to a Nigerian, while a foreign man will never get citizenship to Nigeria because the Nigerian woman married to abroad.

The5bartletts wrote:

Oh, we are under the impression that my husband(British) will be automatically allowed to claim citizenship and acquire a kenyan passport 🤔 I am Kenyan.

Yes, once you both are married for 7 years, and where you stay during this 7 years does not matter. You can stay with him in Britain and after the 7 years passed he can apply for citizenship.
There is nothing like automatic. I myself am Icelandic married to a Kenyan. I am here looking for a loophole and I might have one but then how much can we trust one another........

If a non-Kenyan is married to a Kenyan for 7 years, then he/she can apply for citizenship. It will take time -- but it should work. Until citizenship is actually granted, the non-citizen spouse cannot work (unless they get a work permit in their own right) and will need a dependant's pass. Although it was not always the case, males can get a dependant's pass based on being married to a Kenyan.

Hello to all,

I was planning to go to Ghana, but got some advise to go to Kenya instead.
Indeed, it all seems less complicated and for my business I have more opportunities in Nairobi as in Accra.

Some questions remain; for this K-class (long term residence) I need to have an income of 25k; if my Dutch company signs a contact, promising me a fixed income of this 25k per year; this is sufficient proof? Of course I can show monthly payments then into my account. Or does it have to be pension?

Am I still allowed to work (online) from Kenya for my own company? If I want to expand to Kenya (only buying, not selling); can I work officially at that company (free of charge for all I care) as director?

I don't quite understand why 100k usd is needed to start a company. Surely there must be possibilities to start cheaply a local company. I want to hire staff, and give an official working contract. So I will only create jobs, not take any; costs (staff) are in Kenya, income (sales) abroad. I would charge the costs from Kenya to my Dutch company every month, bringing in Euro's. What is the best way to do that? In other coountries (in Asia) I couln't own a local company; there I just asked one of the employees to take it on his name. How are these things handled in Kenya?

Thanks to stupid Covid I now have to wait till (at least) April before I can visit! But I am already looking for staff,

A bit weird; some sites claim that Nairobi is one of the most expensive cities in Africa, others sites say costs in Nairobi are much less then in Accra.

(I posted this before - in the wrong topic)

<<(I posted this before - in the wrong topic)>>

Yes and I replied.  I somewhat doubt that you will get any different advice here!!

Did you get the help you were looking for?

Hello RabRa,
I just read your post and it got my attention.
I have posted herein as well, seeking employment in Kenya. I am curious if you were successful in starting your business in Kenya. If I may ask, what Kind of business are you in and are there ways we can work together?

Thank you.

Dooly