A Class D work permit Kenya is the permit a company needs when it employs a foreign national in a specific role. It is the most common route for expatriate staff. It also carries one requirement that catches employers out: you must show that a Kenyan could not fill the job. This guide explains who qualifies, the documents you need, the fees, and how the application is made.
This guide is for Kenyan employers (companies, NGOs and institutions) hiring a foreign employee, and for the professionals they are bringing in. If you are coming to run your own business rather than to be employed, you need a Class G permit, not Class D; see our Class G guide and our Class G versus Class D comparison. If you plan to live in Kenya on your own income without working, that is Class K.
The Class D permit sits in the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012, made under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, No. 12 of 2011. It is the employment class. The Directorate of Immigration describes it as a permit for a person who has specific employment with a specific employer, possesses skills or qualifications that are not available in Kenya, and whose engagement will benefit the country.
Everything turns on two ideas in that description. The permit is tied to one named employer and one role, so it is not a general licence to work. And it rests on a genuine claim that the skill is scarce locally. That is the reason for the understudy and advertising requirements set out below, and it is why immigration treats a Class D application as a question of skills transfer rather than a simple hiring formality.
The applicant needs a concrete job offer from a specific Kenyan employer, the qualifications and experience the role requires, and a role that the employer can show a Kenyan could not fill. The employer must be a properly registered, tax-compliant entity. The role should be senior or specialised enough to justify bringing in a foreign national, because a general or entry-level position is difficult to defend against the “not available in Kenya” test.
The application is filed by the employer and includes, among other things:
This is the part of a Class D application that most often decides it. Immigration wants to see that the foreign hire is transferring skills rather than displacing a Kenyan. So you name a Kenyan understudy who will be trained, and you show that the role was genuinely advertised and could not be filled locally. A thin understudy plan is the most common reason applications are refused, and it also matters at renewal, when the authority may ask what skills transfer actually happened over the permit term. Treat the understudy as a real training commitment, with a named person, a plan and a timeline.
The processing fee is KES 20,000 and is non-refundable. You pay it on filing, whether or not the permit is later granted. The issuance fee is KES 500,000 per year, payable once the permit is approved. Citizens of East African Community partner states are issued free of charge.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Processing fee (on filing, non-refundable) | KES 20,000 |
| Issuance fee (on approval, per year) | KES 500,000 |
| EAC partner-state citizens | Free |
Class D carries the highest issuance fee of the main work-permit classes, so budget for it early and factor it into the cost of an expatriate hire.
Applications are made online through the Directorate of Immigration’s portal. In practice the work is in the file, not the form: the employer must present a complete, well-evidenced application, because the substantive decision is made by the Permit Determination Committee, and a thin file is where applications stall. This is the stage we manage for clients, from selecting the right class to assembling the localisation case and the supporting documents. Our guide to applying through eFNS explains the system in more detail. Readers who want the raw procedure and the current forms can find them on the Directorate of Immigration’s official portal at fns.immigration.go.ke.
Class D permits are commonly issued for up to two years and are renewable. Apply to renew before the permit expires. Letting it lapse can force a fresh application rather than a straightforward renewal, and it can leave the employee without status in the meantime. At renewal, expect scrutiny of the understudy and skills-transfer record, so keep evidence of the training you promised.
A Class D holder’s spouse and children can apply for dependant’s passes tied to the permit. These allow the family to reside in Kenya for the life of the permit, and they are renewed alongside it.
A Class D permit is only the immigration layer. Once the employee starts, the employer takes on the full set of Employment Act, 2007 duties, including a written contract, statutory leave and fair-termination protection, together with PAYE deductions to the Kenya Revenue Authority and statutory contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund and the National Social Security Fund. The understudy commitment also has an employment dimension, because it is a real training obligation rather than a form. We usually advise employers to line up the employment contract, payroll registration and permit file together, so the hire is compliant from day one rather than retrofitted later.
A manufacturing firm in Athi River needs a French-speaking plant engineer to commission a new line. It advertises the role, documents that no suitable Kenyan applied, and identifies a graduate engineer as the understudy. It files a Class D application in the company’s name with the engineer’s certified degree, the employment contract, a tax compliance certificate and Form 27. It pays the KES 20,000 processing fee. The engineer enters on a Special Pass to begin commissioning while the Committee considers the file. On approval, the firm pays the KES 500,000 issuance fee, prints the permit and books the endorsement. The understudy is trained over the permit term so that renewal, or replacement by a local hire, is realistic.
Does the employee or the employer apply? The employer sponsors and files. The permit is tied to that employer, and the employee cannot lodge it alone.
Can the employee change jobs on the same permit? No. Class D is specific to one employer and one role, so a new employer means a new permit application.
How long does it last? Permits are commonly issued for up to two years and are renewable. Confirm the exact term on your determination letter.
Can the family come? Yes. A spouse and children can apply for dependant’s passes tied to the permit holder.
What if we need the person to start immediately? Apply for a Special Pass to cover the period until the permit issues. Do not begin work on a visitor’s pass or an eTA, because working without the right status risks the application and the individual’s future entries.
How long does processing take? It depends on the Committee’s queue and on whether your file is complete. A complete, well-evidenced application is the single factor most within your control.
Is the KES 500,000 fee annual or one-off? It is charged per year of the permit, so a two-year permit carries the fee for each year.
Most refusals come down to a weak localisation case, either no real advertisement or an understudy who exists only on paper. An incomplete file is next, whether a missing tax compliance certificate, uncertified certificates, or a document left untranslated. Some employers file under Class D when the person is in fact coming to run their own business, which is Class G. Others let the permit lapse before renewal and turn a renewal into a fresh application. A box-ticking understudy plan stores up trouble for the renewal, when immigration asks what skills transfer took place. And the cost is easy to underestimate: at KES 500,000 a year plus processing, the permit is a real line item, and it belongs in the decision to hire from abroad rather than locally.
Our immigration and employment teams run Class D applications from start to finish. That includes building the localisation and understudy case that decides the outcome, preparing the file, and handling the contract, payroll and tax registrations that come with the hire. We also deal with Special Passes, dependant’s passes, renewals and appeals against refusals. To discuss a Class D application, contact John Maina, Partner, at OLM Law Advocates LLP.
This article is a general guide only and is not legal advice. Please seek advice on your specific circumstances.
OLM Law Advocates LLP advises employers, investors and individuals on Kenyan work and residence permits from start to finish.
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