The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Interior & Coordination of National Government(the “Ministry”), Dr. Fred Matiangi has directed that all foreigners seeking work permits will henceforth apply for the same in their countries and only come to Kenya once the application is approved. This new directive issued on 30^th July, 2018, just like the earlier directive of 20^th April 2018, seeks to ensure that all the foreigners currently working in Kenya are doing so legally.

In April 2018, the Ministry introduced the issuance of e-permits through the Permit Verification & Registration exercise. The objective of the exercise was to weed out foreigners holding jobs that can be done by locals as well as issue foreigners with foolproof biometric work permits. All permit holders were required to appear at the Department of Immigration in person between 21.05.18-21.07.18. The following documents were required for the verification exercise:

1. Original work permit;
2. Valid endorsement on PP;
3. Original payment receipt in respect of permit issuance fees;
4. Valid Foreign Nationals Certificate;
5. Original KRA PIN Certificate.

Additionally, processing of applications for dependant passes to run concurrently with those of work permits. Lastly, initial work permit applications to be thoroughly scrutinised to ensure that no permit is issued to an applicant whose qualifications & skills are available in the Kenyan market.

Impact of the above

It is expected that the number of issued work permits will reduce owing to the thorough scrutiny. It is also expected that the time it will now take to process dependant passes will significantly reduce. Previously, dependant passes could only be processed after the issuance of a work permit.

Lastly and most importantly, the review process will weed out foreigners working in Kenya illegally.

How Legal Answers Consulting can assist:

LAC can support businesses that employ foreigners in Kenya by assessing their eligibility to qualify for the required work permit. Also, we can advise on compliance with Kenyan Immigration Laws. Additionally, we can review your current permits/ employee permits and assist with the necessary corrective measures to ensure compliance.

Lastly, we can also keep you updated on developments in Immigration matters in Kenya if you subscribe to our legal updates. Please do not hesitate to reach out to jaduke@legalconsulting.pro or your usual contact at LAC for your legal queries on immigration.