The Class G work permit is the route most foreign founders use to relocate and run their own Kenyan company. It is also one of the more commonly misunderstood permits, because the figure everyone quotes, USD 100,000, does not actually appear in the regulation that creates Class G itself. Getting the sequencing and the evidence right matters more than memorising a number.
What Class G Actually Requires
The Seventh Schedule to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012 defines Class G as available to a person who intends to engage, alone or in partnership, in a specific trade, business, consultancy or profession, other than a prescribed profession, in Kenya, and who satisfies three conditions: they have obtained any licence, registration or other authority necessary for the purpose; they have, in their own right and at their full and free disposition, sufficient capital and other resources for the purpose; and their engagement in the trade, business, consultancy or profession will be of benefit to Kenya. Nothing in that wording sets a specific shilling or dollar figure. “Sufficient capital” and “benefit to Kenya” are judged on the application before the Director of Immigration Services. The phrase “in their own right and at their full and free disposition” is doing real work in that first condition: capital that is borrowed, pledged as security elsewhere, or otherwise not genuinely available to the applicant does not satisfy it as readily as capital the applicant can show, through bank statements or audited accounts, is actually theirs to deploy into the Kenyan business.
Where the USD 100,000 Figure Actually Comes From
The widely quoted USD 100,000 threshold comes from a different statute entirely. Section 4 of the Investment Promotion Act sets the minimum investment for a foreign investor to be entitled to an investment certificate at USD 100,000 or its equivalent in any currency. Section 13 of the same Act then entitles the holder of an investment certificate to entry permits for expatriates connected with the investment. In other words, USD 100,000 is not a Class G eligibility figure at all; it is the amount that, once invested and certified, gives an automatic route to a permit through the investment certificate mechanism. An applicant who invests less than that can still apply for Class G directly on the “sufficient capital” test in the Seventh Schedule, but without the investment certificate’s automatic entitlement, the assessment is more discretionary and the file needs to work harder to establish that the capital and resources committed are genuinely sufficient for the specific business.
The Licence-First Trap
The first Class G condition catches out founders who try to apply for the permit at the same time as, or before, they finish licensing the underlying business. The Seventh Schedule requires that the applicant has already obtained any licence, registration or other authority necessary for the trade or business in question. For an activity that needs no separate business licence, this is straightforward once the company is incorporated. For a regulated activity, a non-deposit taking credit business, for example, this means the sector licence itself should be in hand, or at least the incorporation and registration steps genuinely necessary to operate should be complete, before the Class G application is filed, not planned as a parallel or later step.
Government Fees
The Ninth Schedule to the Regulations sets a non-refundable processing fee of KES 10,000 and an issuance fee of KES 100,000 per year for a Class G permit. These are government fees and are separate from any legal fee for preparing the application. Fee schedules under subsidiary legislation are revised from time to time; confirm the current amount before budgeting, and see our guide to 2026 work permit fees for the fuller picture across all permit classes.
Entry Permits for Expatriate Staff via the Investment Certificate
Section 13 of the Investment Promotion Act does more than help the founder personally. The holder of an investment certificate is entitled to entry permits for expatriates connected with the certified investment, each issued for an initial two-year period. This is what allows a foreign-invested company to bring in a small number of key expatriate staff, not just the principal investor, once the investment certificate is in place, rather than each of them separately satisfying the Class G “sufficient capital” test in their own right. Section 13(1) names three class A entry permits for management or technical staff and three class H, I or J entry permits for owners, shareholders or partners. The Act uses those class labels as written, so check them against the current Seventh Schedule before relying on them. Section 13(9) waives the fee for the initial issue of the second group.
How We Can Help
Clay & Associates Advocates advises foreign investors on sequencing incorporation, business licensing and Class G applications correctly, and on whether an investment certificate under the Investment Promotion Act is worth pursuing for a given investment size. See also our guide to Kenya’s work permit classes. Contact our Corporate & Commercial team to discuss your application.
Sources: Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012, regulation 19 and the Seventh and Ninth Schedules; Investment Promotion Act, 2004, sections 4 and 13.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to invest exactly USD 100,000 to get a Class G permit?
No. That figure is the Investment Promotion Act’s threshold for an investment certificate, which gives an automatic route to a permit. Class G itself is assessed on a “sufficient capital” test with no fixed statutory figure, though an amount well below that threshold makes the case harder to argue.
Can I apply for Class G before my business is licensed?
Not safely. The Seventh Schedule requires the applicant to have already obtained any necessary licence, registration or authority for the business before the permit is granted.
What are the government fees for a Class G permit?
A non-refundable processing fee of KES 10,000 and an issuance fee of KES 100,000 per year, under the Ninth Schedule to the Regulations, exclusive of any legal fees. Confirm the current figures before budgeting.
Can my foreign employees get permits without each qualifying for Class G individually?
If your investment qualifies for an investment certificate under the Investment Promotion Act, section 13 entitles the certificate holder to three class A entry permits for management or technical staff and three class H, I or J permits for owners, shareholders or partners, each for an initial two-year period.
Need advice on your own matter?
Tell us what you are dealing with. You will know what it involves and what it costs before you commit.
This article is general information on Kenyan law as at its publication date, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an advocate and client relationship.
