Kenya | Immigration | Kenya announces new immigration fees

The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government has, through Legal Gazette Notice No 15492 in Special Issue of Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXV- No. 241 of 14 November 2023, announced new fees for services offered in four(4) of the Ministry’s departments. This alert focuses on the announcement in so far as it relates to the services offered to citizens and foreign nationals by the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services.

Late last year, the government put on hold the effective date of the new fees in line with the court order that sought to allow the public to participate in the government initiative (as contained in Legal Notices No. 15239, 15240, 15241 of 2023- legal notices that stand canceled). The new fees are effective from 1 April 2024 and will affect citizens applying for passports; foreign nationals applying for permits and passes, and residents wishing to move to longer residency status including citizenship and permanent residency.

1. The notice introduces new services that carry some charges, fees, or levies. The new services include:
   1. Storage of citizenship certificates for a period exceeding 90 days from the date when one was notified that the certificate was ready for collection.
   2. Fast tracking service for passport and permit applications.
   3. Issuance of duplicate citizenship certificates.
   4. Reclassification of dependant passes into those held by principal holders (permit and permanent residence holders) and the spouse and children of permit and permanent residency holders.
2. Fees are now introduced for services previously offered at no fee. Services including processing of work permit appeals will now attract a Kshs. 30,000 fee. A fee of Kshs. 20,000 has been introduced to cater for citizenship applications. Kenyans who must declare dual citizenship will need to part with Kshs. 10,000.
3. There is an exponential increase in the fees for the services discharged by the State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services. The table below captures selected changes.

How will your business be impacted by the changes?  Below are some of the possible implications we anticipate:

1. The new passport fees, the government’s communication that more passport booklets had been procured on matters procurement of more booklets, and the promise that more printing machines will be shipped in – indicates a possible end to the backlog that has been witnessed in the recent past. This may be good news to citizens applying for passports as that would project achievable timelines to secure a passport. Additionally, the new service of fast-tracked passports stabilizes the need to urgently meet certain obligations beyond the borders of Kenya. In such cases, the applicant seeking express service would need to pay Kshs. 30,000.
2. An astronomical increase in permit categories and passes may disrupt cash flows for companies with foreign national employees on their staff establishment. Judicious financial and human resource management decisions will need to be made. The new fees challenge the predominant thinking that employees can convert from special passes to work permits. While this has been the case, it may be prudent to plan in such a way that special passes now remain a focus of short-termers whose assignments do not exceed 6 months.  It may also be prudent to process work permits to their issuance before a foreign national is allowed to take an assignment in Kenya.
3. Although the initial cost could be higher, companies may wish to explore the option of supporting employees who qualify for permanent residence or citizenship to secure such long-term residency statuses for stability.
4. The fact that the government has a processing fee of Kshs. 30,000 for applications contesting against decisions made on work permit applications suggests that the process is now well-constituted and predictable. In such a case, we expect to hear clear processes, predictable timelines, and less anxious moments for companies and assignees. Equally, it will be expected that companies would be making contestations for cases where evidence would elucidate a favorable verdict.
5. While the government projects to increase its revenue pot through the implementation of the new fees, this action may negatively affect the inflow of expatriates seeking to come and work in Kenya hence impacting business operations. The fees could potentially make Kenya unattractive compared with its East Africa Community countries whose immigration fees are deemed accommodative. We are likely to see companies make decisions on where to domesticate their services beyond the Kenyan borders. This will work against the quest to make Nairobi the regional hub for many businesses. Reduced expatriate numbers and businesses may have serious implications for the county’s GDP which is a factor of employment and corporate tax revenue collection.

At Vialto Partners Kenya Limited, we are happy to support you through the implications of these fees to your business and secure possible plans for your global mobility decisions.

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Andrew Ondieki
Director

Robert Aswani
Senior Manager

Dennis Emojong
Manager

Patrick Kaleve
Senior Associate

Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com

For additional alerts, please visit: www.vialtopartners.com/regional-alerts

Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Want to know when a Regional Alert is posted?

Simply follow our Vialto Alerts page on LinkedIn and posts will be displayed on your feed. To ensure you don’t miss one, once you’re on our LinkedIn page, click on the bell icon under the banner image to manage your notifications.

Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com

Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

© 2025 Vialto Partners. All rights reserved.