Briefs About Immigration in Kenya
Changes to Kenya’s Citizenship and Immigration Law
The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations 2012 came into force on the 15th of June, 2012 and were made pursuant to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act 2011 which came into force on 30th August 2011.
Amongst other things, the Regulations brought in higher fees, employer compliance inspections, re-classified entry/work permits, and scrapped the business visa.
Implementation of the Electronic Foreign Nationals Services Portal in Kenya
With effect from 1st March 2016, all applications for Entry Permits and Passes by foreign nationals were to be made via the Department of Immigration Services Foreign Nationals Portal fns.immigration.go.ke
Kenya Immigration Police-Clearance Certificate
The Immigration Department issued a Public Notice that effective 2nd October 2017, all work permit applications and student, dependant, research and internship passes shall be obtained with a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) from the country of habitual residence or country of origin (whichever applies), in addition to other statutory requirements. Special passes are however exempted. Ideally for new applications the PCC shall be obtained from the country that the individual originates from, while for renewals the same may be obtained from the Kenyan intelligence authority (CID). For the CID to issue the PCC, the applicant must hold a valid Permit and Alien Card. The PCC issued by the CID is valid for a period of one year. It is therefore advisable for applicants to apply for the same at least 3 months prior to the expiry of their Permits. The purpose of this additional requirement is to prioritize security in immigration procedures.
Immigration Update
On 1st July 2019, the Department of Immigration Services issued a Public Notice requiring all Work Permit applications be accompanied with the Kenya Revenue Authority Tax Compliance Certificates (KRA TCC) of both the Individual Applicant and sponsoring Company in the case of a renewal (in the case of a first time application only the TCC of the sponsoring Company shall be required). Effectively, the Department of Immigration will not accept Work Permit applications without the appropriate KRA TCC.
A KRA TCC may only be issued to individuals and businesses that have complied with Kenyan statutory tax obligations.
In light of the above, Applicants for Work Permit are advised to take into consideration the additional time required to obtain a TCC and adjust their preparation periods accordingly.
Our experienced immigration advisers are happy to assist with any immigration queries or applications.
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