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How can my wife work when I relocate to Nairobi

Last activity 21 August 2021 by Longonot62

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JC DADA

This question has probably been asked before - if so please point me to the relevant discussion!

I have been offered a job in Nairobi and hope to relocate in January. It is with a social enterprise so the salary is not high and my wife will need to work somehow to make ends meet.

Looking briefly at the immigration policy this seems hard to do. She is not a member of a prescribed profession and does not have a job offer.

Are there any suggestions/advice on how it can work, or do most people who relocate rely on a single income?

Creative solutions welcome!

LLinterior

Hey!

She can start her own business maybe? Send me a message i can give you some ideas.

stumpy

@LLinterior

Please post ideas here so that others may benefit from them. Thanks.

LLinterior

I was asking for you to inbox because I had a couple of questions depending on what her interests are? There's many to choose from...
Baking, Daycare, Tutoring, Retail, Cosmetics...etc

Longonot62

Hi, There are lots of posts on this subject.

Unfortunately your wife would need to have a job offer and relevant work permit to be able to work in Kenya, either in a paid or voluntary capacity.  This would have to be obtained prior to travel. 

Generally speaking, spouses and children obtain a Dependent Pass to enable them to live with you in Kenya.  However, this prohibits any paid or voluntary work.

With regard to starting a business.  it is relatively easy to register a company, but an entirely different prospect if your wife wanted to run it.  For that she would need a Class G Permit and to obtain that you must have a minimum of $100,000 capital.  This requirement is extremely frustrating, but exists to encourage foreign investors and to support small businesses being run by Kenyans.

Kenya is not the best place to be if you fall short of cash, so I think that you need to plan and think very carefully.  As you haven't stated your salary and any benefits (housing, healthcare, transport), it's difficult to assist any further. 

As an aside, I was offered a social enterprise type position in Tanzania years ago, but sadly had to turn it down, as the income would have been too little to support my family.  It was an incredibly hard decision to make, but the correct one, in retrospect.

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