State creates new permit classes to attract foreign workers

The government has introduced new categories of work permits in a bid to attract professionals seeking to work in Kenya.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who is also acting Interior CS said the government has amended permit classes with the Class 1 permit being amended to exclude persons working for charitable organisations, who have been moved to Class Q.

The permit was initially issued to a person who who is a member of an institution registered under the Societies Act, who is engaged as a missionary, and whose activities were directly involved in preaching and or the conduct of religious worship and rituals. 

Mudavadi said the church has been vocal in seeking a reversal of the decisions to raise fees from Sh5000 to Sh50,000 per year for their missionaries under Class ‘I’ insisting that their missionary priests, brothers, and sisters are not salaried and offer services to our society's neediest and in some of the remotest areas.

As a result, amending Class ‘I’ was aimed to reduce the number of persons falling under this category and reduce the fee charged from Sh50,000 to Sh20,000.

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“While the fee charged is reduced, the number of beneficiaries will also reduce. The other previous members of this class are moved to class 'Q' where they will pay an increased fee of Sh100,000 per year,” said the PCS.

The newly introduced is Class 'Q' will be issued to a person who is a member of an institution registered under the Society's Act whose duties are not directly related to the conduct of religious worship and rituals.

Member of a company limited by guarantee, and Member of a trust registered under the Trustee Act. Professionals working for religious societies, institutions run by religious societies, charitable organizations, or institutions run by charitable organisations fall under this class.

In another amendment, staff working at United Nations, Diplomatic Missions, Inter-Governmental Organizations like the Bretton Wood Institutions, and International Non-Governmental Organizations accredited to or based in neighbouring hardship countries can now reside in Kenya with their families.

This is after Mudavadi gazzetted a new class of permit Class 'P’ for the UN staff and those working with international organisations.

The PCS said the UN staff working in hardship countries and have their families in Kenya could only visit their relatives on a visitor’s ticket.

“The practice has been that such people maintain a residence in Nairobi where they, together with family, stay. They then go to their stations for short periods and come back to Nairobi to meet their families,” he said.

He noted that the new permit follows consistent requests from the United Nations office in Nairobi directly and through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs for a status of UN staff working in neighbouring countries that are not classified as family stations in the region.

“Kenya's main attraction for the diplomatic staff is due to security, peace and stability, the existence of good international schools and hospitals, ease of foreign travels, decent accommodation - houses, world-class recreation facilities, the existence of a large International Community, and stable internet in Nairobi,” he said.

This move is also meant to boost the economy through services offered to the employees and their families.

“Acknowledging that UN staff are highly paid, their stay in the country is of benefit considering the money they use to pay rent for residences, school, and fees for children,” Mudavadi said.

“Many of them keep a car and at least a driver and domestic staff. The stay of such persons is also in line with Kenya's goal of Nairobi being a UN and Multilateral hub,” he added.

Those eligible for the new Permit ‘P’ will pay a lower fee but will be charged in US dollars

“These workers are usually paid in foreign currency and it is an opportunity for the government to earn foreign currency from them,” Mudavadi said.

In another attempt to enhance digital jobs and attract foreign currency, Mudavadi also introduced a work permit for digital nomads.

People working online and freelance workers and seeks to operate from Kenya will now an annual fee of USD 1000 (approx. Sh129,000). This follows a gazettement of a new Class 'N' - for the Digital Nomad in on October 1, 2024.

According to Mudavadi, the permit class was informed by the rise in young professionals working remotely for overseas companies referred to as Digital nomads but have chosen Kenya as their place of residence.

“Studies already estimate that about 40 million young professionals are engaged in digital jobs worldwide and this category includes people in their middle-to-high income earners who are typically social media savvy, constantly sharing information and experiences digitally with their employers, friends, and families abroad,” he said.

The cadres listed in Class ‘N’ include ICT Professionals, project managers, editors, graphic designers, online teachers/tutors, virtual assistants, programmers, application developers, customer service representatives, bloggers, video editors, software developers, writers, marketers and consultants.

“This class of permit is issued to a person whose annual income is USD 24,000 down from USD 55,000,” said the Prime Cabinet Secretary.

Further the government has created Class R permit, which will be issued to a citizen of a member state of the East African Community (EAC) who is not a prohibited Immigrant.

Under Class 'R', EAC citizen who intends to reside or engage in employment, or business or trade or profession will automatically get a work permit and will only be required to provide proof of EAC member states citizenship.

“This proposed class 'R' work permit intends to consolidate all East African applicants together irrespective of their description - investors, professionals, skilled employees, unskilled employees, traders, farmers, manufactures,’ said the PCS.