One of the most common mistakes we see foreign investors make, and one we corrected in our own advice mid-transaction on a recent hospitality matter, is assuming that a single work permit covers everyone a foreign-owned business brings into Kenya. It doesn’t. Getting the class wrong delays start dates, risks refusal, and in some cases exposes the employer to penalties for unauthorised employment.
The legal framework
Work permits in Kenya, formally Kenya Entry Permits, are issued under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011. Section 36 of the Act provides that permits fall into classes prescribed under regulations, and section 40 sets out the issuing process: an application goes to the Director of Immigration Services, who issues the permit on the recommendation of the Permit Determination Committee, an inter-ministerial body. The specific classes, including Classes D and G, are set out in the Seventh Schedule to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012.
Class G: the investor’s own permit
Class G is for a person who intends to engage personally in trade, business, consultancy, or specific investment activity in Kenya, typically because they hold equity in the venture and will be personally involved in running it. It is tied to a personal capital investment in the business, with a practice benchmark commonly cited around USD 100,000, and it is granted to the investor as an individual, not to the company or its workforce generally. If a foreign shareholder or director plans to relocate to Kenya and run the business day to day, Class G is the correct category for that person.
Class D: the employment permit
Class D is for a foreign national who has received a specific job offer from a Kenyan employer, whether that employer is foreign-owned or not. It requires the employer to demonstrate that the role calls for skills, qualifications, or experience not readily available in the Kenyan labour market, and applications are commonly refused where that justification is weak. This is the correct category for management, technical, or specialist staff who are employed by the business rather than personally invested in it, including staff sent to oversee construction, set-up, or early operations before local hires take over.
The mistake we see repeatedly
Foreign investors setting up a Kenyan subsidiary often assume that because the company is foreign-owned, a Class G permit for the business covers whoever the company sends. It does not. Class G attaches to the individual investor personally engaging in the business, not to employees carrying out the business on the investor’s behalf. A specialist manager, a construction supervisor, or a technical lead sent by the parent company needs a Class D permit in their own right, supported by the employer’s justification for why that specific role could not be filled locally. Confusing the two categories, or assuming one filing covers a whole team, is one of the more common and avoidable sources of delay in foreign-backed projects.
Getting it right from the outset
The practical approach is to map every foreign national the project will bring into Kenya against a role: is this person personally investing and running the business, or are they an employee carrying out a specific function? The former needs Class G; the latter needs Class D, with a distinct justification for each role. Where a project has a mix, an investor relocating personally alongside employed specialist staff, both categories will typically be needed side by side, not one in place of the other.
The application process in outline
Applications for either class go to the Director of Immigration Services, supported by the documentation relevant to the class sought: for Class G, evidence of the capital being invested and the nature of the trade or business; for Class D, an offer of employment, the employer’s justification for the role, and evidence of the applicant’s qualifications. The Permit Determination Committee reviews applications and makes recommendations to the Director, and processing timelines vary depending on the completeness of the application and the committee’s sitting schedule. A Class D application in particular tends to face closer scrutiny where the justification for hiring a foreign national over a Kenyan candidate is thin, so it is worth investing time in that justification rather than treating it as a formality.
Both permit classes require renewal, and a permit holder who changes role, employer, or the basis on which they were granted the permit needs to notify the relevant authority and, in many cases, apply afresh rather than assume the existing permit continues to cover the new circumstances. Treating a permit as a one-time filing rather than an ongoing compliance obligation is another common source of avoidable problems.
How We Can Help
Clay & Associates Advocates advises foreign investors and their Kenyan subsidiaries on work permit classification and applications, including structuring a project’s staffing plan to identify which roles need which category before any application is filed. Our case study on foreign land ownership structures in Kenya covers a related set of issues that arise in the same kind of foreign-backed project. Contact our Corporate & Commercial practice to plan your project’s immigration needs before you start bringing people into the country.
Sources: Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011, sections 36 and 40; Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012, Seventh Schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Can one Class G permit cover a foreign investor’s whole management team?
No. Class G attaches to the individual investor personally engaging in the business. Employed staff, however senior, need their own Class D permits.
Does a Class D applicant need to already have local staff in place?
No, but the employer must justify why the specific role requires skills not readily available in the Kenyan labour market, which is easier to demonstrate with a genuine skills gap than a general preference for foreign staff.
What happens if the wrong class is applied for?
The application is likely to be refused or delayed while it is corrected, and in the meantime the individual has no valid authorisation to work in that capacity.
Do short-term visits, such as a site inspection, need a work permit at all?
Short business visits not involving employment or active business engagement are generally handled differently from work permits; the specific facts of the visit determine what is required, and this is worth confirming before travel rather than after.
