Every year, Kenyan companies, institutions, and multinationals bring in foreign specialists, and most need a Class D work permit.

Employers and expatriates ask us the same questions repeatedly. Who qualifies? What does it cost? How long does it take? What happens if the job ends early? This guide answers those questions using the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 (KCIA).

What is a Class D work permit?

Class D is the employment permit. A permit for a person offered specific employment by a specific employer. The employer may be the Government of Kenya, a body controlled by the Government, the private sector or an individual company.

Two conditions sit at its core:

1. The applicant has skills or qualifications that are not available in Kenya; and

2. Their employment will benefit Kenya.

3. The permit is tied to one job with one employer.

Who must apply – the employer or the employee?

The employer. Section 45(2) of the KCIA makes it the duty of every employer to apply for and obtain a work permit before employing a foreign national.

Section 45 also bars employing a foreign national whose status does not allow employment, or on terms different from those the permit allows. Employers must keep records for two years after the employment ends.

The penalties are serious. Under section 53, working without a permit, or employing someone in a capacity the Act does not authorise, is an offence. The penalty is a fine of up to KES 500,000, imprisonment of up to three years, or both. An employer convicted of employing a foreign national in an unauthorised capacity may also have to pay the cost of that person's removal.