Dependant’s Passes in Kenya: Bringing Family Members When You Relocate for Work

Relocating to Kenya for work rarely means relocating alone. A spouse and children usually come too, and Kenya’s immigration rules give them their own dedicated route, the Dependant’s Pass, distinct from the work permit the principal applicant holds. Most of what is written about this pass online focuses narrowly on elderly parents. This article covers the mainstream case: bringing a spouse and children when you relocate for work, what the pass does and does not let them do, and what it costs.

Who Qualifies as a Dependant

Under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012, a Dependant’s Pass is available where the dependant relies on the applicant for maintenance, and is the applicant’s spouse or child, or is unable to maintain themselves due to age, disability, or incapacity. A child dependant loses eligibility on turning 21. The applicant must also show sufficient income to maintain the dependant for the duration of their stay.

The applicant sponsoring the dependant must themselves be lawfully in Kenya as a citizen, a work permit holder, an exempted person, or a permanent resident. In practice, where the sponsor holds a work permit, the Directorate’s own document checklist requires a valid copy of that permit with at least six months of validity remaining at the time of application, so this is not something to leave until a permit is close to expiry.

The same route also covers a narrower case worth mentioning: a dependant who is not a spouse or minor child but who relies on the applicant for maintenance by reason of age, disability, or another incapacity, which is how an elderly parent can sometimes qualify. The eligibility test and documentation are the same either way, income sufficiency, proof of the relationship, and proof of the condition creating dependency, but the spouse and child case is by far the more common relocation scenario and the one this guide focuses on.

The pass is not permanent. It can be invalidated if the dependant stops relying on the applicant, if the applicant becomes unable to maintain them, if the applicant leaves Kenya for what looks like more than a temporary absence, if the dependant takes up employment or income-generating activity, if the applicant’s permanent residence status ends, if the applicant dies, or when a child dependant turns 21. A family relocating to Kenya should treat the pass as tied to the ongoing facts of the relationship and the sponsor’s status, not as a one-time approval that never needs revisiting.

What a Dependant’s Pass Does Not Let You Do

This is the point most worth understanding before you rely on the pass for a family’s relocation plans. A Dependant’s Pass does not authorise employment. Engaging in any form of trade or employment, whether paid or unpaid, while holding the pass is an offence, and a dependant who takes up income-generating activity gives the Directorate grounds to invalidate the pass entirely. It also does not authorise education or training at any institution without a separate pupil’s pass. A spouse who wants to work in Kenya needs their own work permit, obtained on their own merits, not derived from the Dependant’s Pass, and a child who will study needs the pupil’s pass alongside it.

Fees and Processing

Kenya revised its Dependant’s Pass fees alongside the broader 2023 work permit fee overhaul. The current issuance fee is KES 20,000 where the sponsor is a Kenyan citizen, and KES 10,000 where the sponsor holds a work permit or permanent residence. Dependants of East African Community citizens are exempt from the fee entirely. Unlike work permit classes such as Class D or Class N, which carry an explicitly annual issuance fee, the Dependant’s Pass fee is published as a single flat amount with no stated annual renewal figure, which suggests it functions as a one-off charge tied to the pass rather than a recurring cost, though this should be confirmed with the Directorate directly for a specific case rather than assumed. The Directorate’s published service standard for processing is 15 working days.

Application Process and Documents

Applications are made online through the eFNS portal using Form 28, following the same Single Sign-On login used for other permit and pass applications. The required documents include the completed form, a signed cover letter to the Director of Immigration Services, two recent passport photographs of the dependant, valid passport or national ID biodata pages for both the applicant and the dependant, and documentary evidence of the relationship, typically a certified marriage certificate for a spouse or a birth certificate for a child. Where dependency arises from age, disability, or another form of incapacity rather than a spousal or parent-child relationship, documentary proof of that condition is required. Proof of the applicant’s income sufficient to support the dependant must also be submitted, along with a copy of the applicant’s own valid permit where relevant. Once approved, an invoice is generated in the portal and can be paid online or in person at the Immigration Counter at Nyayo House in Nairobi.