Kenya · Relocation guide
Moving to Kenya: choose the permit class, then build a Nairobi or regional landing file
Kenya’s Directorate of Immigration lists distinct work-permit and pass classes. A visitor entry does not become work permission; submit the correct application through eFNS and keep the permit class aligned with the activity.
Content updated 11 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.
Start with the activity and permit class
The Directorate of Immigration says applications for permits and passes are submitted online through the eFNS portal. Its list includes employment, specific trade or business, prescribed professions, manufacturing, agriculture, religious and charitable work, student and dependant categories. Read the class requirements before accepting a job or registering an enterprise.
A short visit or electronic travel authorisation is not a work permit. A Class D employee case, Class G business or consultancy case, Class C prescribed-profession case and Class K ordinary-resident case are not interchangeable. The employer, professional body, business evidence and intended activity must match the application.
| Plan | Candidate route | Next question |
|---|---|---|
| Kenyan employment | Class D Work Permit (Employment) | Does the employer and role support the application? |
| Prescribed profession | Class C permit | Can the professional body and qualifications be evidenced? |
| Trade, business or consultancy | Class G Work Permit (Trade, Business or Consultancy) | What Kenyan business and capital evidence is required? |
| Ordinary residence | Class K Permit (Ordinary Residents) | Do you meet the ordinary-resident conditions without treating it as a work permit? |
| Study or family | Student or dependant pass | What activities remain prohibited or need separate permission? |
Use eFNS as the application and foreigner-registration record
Create the account, upload the required documents, keep the payment and submission receipts, and print the issued permit or pass as instructed. The authority says a processed permit should be printed from eFNS and presented for endorsement. Unless an official exemption applies, foreign nationals resident in Kenya for more than 90 days must also apply for the Foreign Nationals Certificate (Alien Card): submit the online Form 50, passport, proof of residence, photographs and appointment biometrics, then retain the waiting slip and collection notice.
Keep passport pages, photographs, employer or business letters, qualifications, professional registration, police clearance and family records in the exact formats requested. If the permit is refused, expires or the role changes, ask Immigration about the next lawful step before working or remaining on a visitor status.
Choose the county and address before registration
Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and other counties differ in commute, climate, schools, healthcare and service access. Inspect the home, landlord authority, lease, deposit, utilities, water arrangements, security and internet before transferring funds. Retain the signed agreement and actual address for banking, employer, permit and family records.
If the employer provides accommodation, identify what ends when employment ends. Keep an emergency alternative and do not register a borrowed address. For regional or field work, ask which county or site the permit and employer documents describe.
Get a KRA PIN and classify income correctly
KRA’s resident-registration instructions say a non-Kenyan employee normally brings a passport, employer introduction letter and PIN, plus the valid work permit or special pass and its endorsement. Apply through iTax, retain the acknowledgement and complete any in-person step KRA requires. KRA also states that employed or business individuals need a PIN and that annual filing duties depend on the applicable obligations.
Open banking only after confirming the bank’s identity, permit, address and source-of-funds list. Keep payslips, contracts, foreign income, travel days, withholding evidence and business invoices. Ask KRA or a qualified adviser about resident and non-resident treatment, permanent establishments, withholding and filing deadlines instead of copying a tax answer from another country.
Arrange health cover and family permissions
Confirm the health-cover requirement and the practical provider network for your county before arrival. Keep prescriptions, vaccination records and medical summaries. A health contribution or insurance registration is not an immigration permit and should not be described as guaranteed access to every provider.
A dependant pass supports the family relationship stated in the application; it is not automatically employment authorisation. Children need birth, custody, school and vaccination records. Contact the selected school early and check county transport and emergency arrangements.
Verify the licence and vehicle route
Use the National Transport and Safety Authority’s current driving-licence guidance for foreign-licence recognition, testing, conversion and any international permit requirement. Carry the original licence and passport. Do not assume an international permit replaces the underlying licence or that a permit to live in Kenya permits commercial driving.
If importing or buying a vehicle, separate customs, registration, insurance and inspection tasks from immigration. Record the vehicle’s documents and keep a plan for work travel that does not depend on an unconfirmed licence conversion.
Plan extensions and permanent residence independently
Calendar permit expiry and submit any extension or change through the channel Immigration specifies. A work permit, dependant pass, special pass and permanent residence have different conditions. Kenya publishes a separate permanent-residence process; do not promise eligibility simply because someone has lived or worked in Kenya for a particular period.
Before leaving, obtain tax and employment records, close or transfer utilities, notify the bank and school, settle the lease, and check whether dependants’ status ends with the principal permit. Preserve eFNS receipts and prior decisions for later applications.
Your moving checklist
Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.
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Sources and checks
The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.
- Kenya Directorate of Immigration: work permits and passesSource checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya eFNS: permits information packSource checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya Immigration: foreign-national certificate (Alien Card)Source checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya Revenue Authority: individual income taxSource checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya Revenue Authority: PIN registration for residentsSource checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya Social Health AuthoritySource checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya NTSA: driving licencesSource checked 11 September 2026
- Kenya Directorate of Immigration: permanent residenceSource checked 11 September 2026