The classes of Kenyan work permit explained — Class D, Class G, Special Passes and the EAC Class R — with renewals and compliance.
Foreign nationals work in Kenya under permits and passes issued by the Directorate of Immigration Services, under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act 2011 and the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations 2012. The Seventh Schedule to the Regulations (made under regulation 19(2)) sets out the classes, each with its own eligibility criteria, and the Ninth Schedule (regulation 59) prescribes the fees. Two points on sourcing are worth knowing: regulation 23(2) provides that no permit may be issued or renewed for a period exceeding five years at a time, and the consolidated Regulations published by Kenya Law currently run to Legal Notice 93 of 2025 — so the newest classes and fee levels appear on the Directorate’s own channels before they appear in the consolidated text. Applications are submitted through the Foreign Nationals Services (eFNS) portal on eCitizen, using the prescribed forms. Two threshold rules govern everything that follows: it is unlawful to take up employment before authorisation is granted, and the class must match the actual activity — using the wrong class is a common reason for rejection.
Class D is the employment permit: a foreign national with skills a Kenyan employer cannot readily find, sponsored by that employer and tied to a named Kenyan understudy so the role can be localised over time. The processing fee is KES 20,000, with an annual issuance fee of around KES 500,000 (fees were last revised in December 2024). Read our full Class D work permit guide for the complete eligibility, documents and fees.
Class G is for a foreign national investing in or running their own trade, business or consultancy in Kenya, evidenced by documentary proof of capital to be invested of at least USD 100,000. The processing fee is KES 20,000, with an annual issuance fee of around KES 250,000. Read our full Class G work permit guide, or see how it compares to employment in our Class G vs Class D guide.
A Special Pass authorises short-term work or business for a period not exceeding six months, at USD 200 per month for non-EAC nationals. It is designed for genuinely temporary assignments — equipment installation, training delivery, short consultancy — or as a bridge while a substantive permit is processed. It is not a substitute for a Class D or G permit for ongoing work, and overstaying or misusing it carries immigration consequences.
The December 2024 amendments (Legal Notice 198 of 2024) reshaped the position for citizens of East African Community member states. Previously they applied under the ordinary classes with fees waived; now they apply under a dedicated Class R permit that consolidates employment, business, trade and professional activity into one streamlined category and is issued gratis — fee-free. The Directorate began issuing Class R permits in 2025 and lists Class R as gratis in its Service Delivery Charter 2025. One caveat on sourcing: Legal Notice 198 of 2024 is not held in Kenya Law’s database, and the consolidated Regulations there, current to Legal Notice 93 of 2025, do not yet carry a Class R entry in the Seventh Schedule. Class R is operational in practice; the consolidated text has simply not caught up. Class R reflects the EAC Common Market commitment to free movement of labour and is the default route for an EAC national living and working in Kenya.
Selecting the wrong class is the most common avoidable reason a Kenyan work permit application fails, because the Directorate assesses what you filed against the criteria for the class you chose rather than the activity you actually intend to carry on. Most foreign nationals and their employers are choosing between four routes, compared below.
| Feature | Class D | Class G | Special Pass | Class R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | A foreign national holding a specific job offer from a specific Kenyan employer | An owner, partner or consultant carrying on a trade, business, consultancy or profession | Someone who must begin a short assignment before a permit is issued | A citizen of an East African Community partner state |
| Core threshold | Skills or qualifications not available in the local labour market, plus a named Kenyan understudy | Documentary proof of capital to be invested of at least USD 100,000 | A genuine short-term business, trade or professional purpose | Proof of citizenship of a partner state |
| Tied to one employer | Yes | No, but tied to the stated business | Yes, to the stated activity | No |
| Duration | Renewable; commonly issued for one to two years | Renewable; commonly issued for one to two years | Up to six months, and not a substitute for a permit | Renewable |
| Processing fee | KSh 20,000 | KSh 20,000 | Not applicable | Gratis |
| Issuance fee | KSh 500,000 per year | KSh 250,000 per year | USD 200 per month | Gratis |
If the Kenyan entity that will employ you or hold your investment does not yet exist, deal with the corporate steps first: our guides to company registration in Kenya and registering a company in Kenya as a foreigner cover the incorporation documents the Directorate will later ask to see. Remote workers employed by a company outside Kenya should look instead at the Class N digital nomad permit, and anyone planning a wider market entry will find the immigration steps set in context in our guide to doing business in Kenya.
Every permit and pass application is made online through the Foreign Nationals Services (eFNS) portal on eCitizen. The sequence is the same whichever class you are applying for; only the prescribed form and the supporting documents change.
It is unlawful to take up employment in Kenya before authorisation is granted, and a permit cannot be backdated. Where there is a fixed start date, employers routinely file a Special Pass to bridge the gap. The employment terms themselves still have to comply with Kenyan law — see our employment and labour practice and our overview of labour law in Kenya.
Short answers to the questions we are asked most often are collected in our Kenya work permit FAQ.
The Directorate publishes a requirements list for each class. The two we are asked about most are set out below. Gaps in this bundle, rather than any weakness in the underlying case, account for most of the delay applicants experience.
Certificates, powers of attorney and corporate documents executed outside Kenya usually have to be legalised or apostilled before they will be accepted. Our guide to the legalisation of documents in Kenya explains the route for each country.
Two government charges apply to most permits: a non-refundable processing fee payable when the application is submitted, and an issuance fee payable once the permit is approved and then annually. Citizens of East African Community partner states are exempt from both. The figures below are those published by the Directorate of Immigration Services and were last checked on 5 August 2026.
| Permit or pass | Processing fee | Issuance fee |
|---|---|---|
| Class A — prospecting and mining | KSh 20,000 | KSh 500,000 per year |
| Class B — agriculture and animal husbandry | KSh 20,000 | KSh 250,000 per year |
| Class C — prescribed professions | KSh 20,000 | KSh 250,000 per year |
| Class D — employment | KSh 20,000 | KSh 500,000 per year |
| Class F — specific manufacturing | KSh 20,000 | KSh 250,000 per year |
| Class G — trade, business or consultancy | KSh 20,000 | KSh 250,000 per year |
| Class I — approved religious and charitable activities | Gratis on eFNS (KSh 5,000 on the class page) | KSh 20,000 per year (KSh 50,000 on the class page) |
| Class K — ordinary residents | KSh 20,000 | KSh 250,000 per year |
| Class M — conventional refugees | Gratis | Gratis |
| Class N — digital nomad | USD 200 | USD 1,000 per year |
| Class P — staff of the UN, diplomatic missions and international organisations | USD 200 | USD 1,000 per year |
| Class Q — professionals working for religious or charitable organisations | KSh 20,000 | KSh 100,000 per year |
| Class R — EAC nationals | Gratis | Gratis |
| Special Pass | Not applicable | USD 200 per month on approval |
| Dependant’s Pass | Not applicable | KSh 20,000 for the dependant of a Kenyan citizen; KSh 10,000 for the dependant of a permit or permanent residence holder |
| Student’s Pass | Not applicable | USD 100 per year |
| Internship or research pass | Not applicable | KSh 15,000 per year |
Fees above were re-verified on 5 August 2026 against three official sources: the Directorate of Immigration Services class pages, its Service Delivery Charter 2025 and the eFNS portal information pack, which is the system that raises the invoice. Where they differ the eFNS figure is given first. Class I is the clearest example: eFNS shows no processing fee and KSh 20,000 a year on issuance, the charter agrees on KSh 20,000, and the class page still shows KSh 5,000 and KSh 50,000. The internship or research pass is KSh 15,000 a year on the class page and KSh 10,000 in the charter. Further back, paragraph (d) of the Ninth Schedule to the Regulations, as consolidated by Kenya Law to Legal Notice 93 of 2025, still carries the pre-2024 statutory figures — KSh 10,000 processing and KSh 200,000 a year for Class D, for instance — and the only recent amendment to that Schedule, section 11 of Legal Notice 38 of 2024, changed paragraph (e) to substitute “Electronic Travel Authorisation” for “visa”. The amounts charged today therefore sit ahead of the gazetted text. Confirm the amount payable on the eFNS invoice before paying.
The published fee is not the whole cost of the exercise. Budget separately for any security bond the Directorate requires, registration as a foreigner and the resulting certificate, dependants’ passes, legalisation and translation of documents, and professional fees. Note also that the processing fee is not refunded if the application is refused, which is why the classification decision at the outset matters so much.
There are two answers and it is worth knowing both. The Directorate of Immigration Services publishes service standards in its Service Delivery Charter, and those are the targets the office measures itself against. What applicants experience is usually longer, because the published clock assumes a complete file that attracts no queries.
| Service | Published standard |
|---|---|
| Work or residence permit — new application | 21 working days |
| Work or residence permit — renewal | 10 working days |
| Special Pass | 7 working days |
| Dependant’s Pass | 15 working days |
| Student’s Pass | 15 working days |
| Internship or research pass | 15 working days |
| Endorsement of a permit or pass | 1 day |
| Registration as a foreign national | 6 weeks |
| Permanent residence | 24 months |
Source: Directorate of Immigration Services, Service Delivery Charter 2025.
Twenty-one working days is roughly a calendar month once weekends and public holidays are counted, so the published standard and the practical ranges below are not in conflict. The difference is queries: applications filed with an outstanding tax compliance certificate, an incomplete understudy file or the wrong permit class routinely run well beyond both.
Plan the start date backwards from the decision, not forwards from the offer letter. Because work before authorisation is unlawful and a permit cannot be backdated, an optimistic start date is the point at which most compliance problems begin.
Refusals are rarely about the merits of the appointment. In our experience they cluster around a short list of curable defects.
Where an application is refused, the defect is often curable and a properly reconstructed fresh application is frequently faster than pursuing a review. Our guide to work permit refusals and appeals in Kenya sets out the review and appeal routes. Our immigration team handles permit applications, renewals, refused applications and corporate relocations across all classes.
Most permits are renewable provided the holder still meets the eligibility criteria, and the renewal should be filed through eFNS before expiry to avoid a lapse in lawful status. Regulation 23(1) leaves the period of validity to the Director’s determination, and regulation 23(2) caps any single issue or renewal at five years. One obligation employers routinely miss sits in regulation 21: where a permit holder ceases the employment for which the work permit was issued, the employer named in the permit must report that in writing to the Director within fifteen days, and failing to do so is an offence. The recurring pitfalls are applying under the wrong class, weak understudy or recruitment evidence on Class D, insufficient or unverifiable capital on Class G, starting work before approval, and allowing a permit to lapse. In our view the time to get advice is before the application, when the class and the evidence base are chosen — not after a rejection.
eFNS is where applications are filed and paid for, so its information pack is the most current statement of practice. It is not a statutory instrument. On 5 August 2026 we checked each of its material claims against the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 and the Regulations as consolidated to Legal Notice 93 of 2025.
| eFNS position | Gazetted position | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Permits issued by the Director on the recommendation of the Permits Determination Committee | Section 40 of the Act | Confirmed |
| Classes drawn from the Seventh Schedule | Section 36(1) of the Act with regulation 19(2) | Confirmed |
| Class K requires an assured annual income of USD 24,000 | Regulation 19(4) | Confirmed |
| Class C limited to prescribed professions | Regulation 19(6) and the Eighth Schedule | Confirmed |
| Form 25 to apply, Form 27 for the employment return, Form 28 for a dependant’s pass, Form 32 for a special pass | Regulations 19(1), 22, 26(1) and 33(1) | Confirmed |
| Registration required after three months of continuous residence | Section 56(2) of the Act with regulation 45 | Confirmed |
| Approval lapses if the fee is not paid within thirty days | Regulation 55. The portal cites “section 56”, which is the penalty provision | Rule confirmed, cross-reference misdescribed |
| Special pass “issued under regulation 34” | The special pass is regulation 33; regulation 34 is the re-entry pass | Cross-reference misdescribed |
| Student’s pass under “section 30(1)” | The student’s pass is regulation 29; regulation 30 is the visitor’s pass | Cross-reference misdescribed |
| Classes P, Q and R open for application | The Seventh Schedule as consolidated to Legal Notice 93 of 2025 runs A, B, C, D, F, G, I, K, M and N only | No gazetted basis located |
| Class N checklist asks for three months of bank statements or payslips | The Seventh Schedule requires an assured annual income of USD 55,000 and proof of a clean criminal record | Portal understates the test |
| Classes A, B, F and G require documentary proof of USD 100,000 | The Schedule requires only “sufficient capital and other resources”; no figure is gazetted | Administrative threshold |
| Processing fee of KSh 20,000 across most classes | Paragraph (d) of the Ninth Schedule still reads KSh 10,000, and Legal Notice 38 of 2024 amended only paragraph (e) | Charged amount ahead of the Schedule |
None of this makes an eFNS application invalid. The Director issues permits under section 40 of the Act and the portal is the prescribed manner of applying. It does mean that where money or eligibility turns on a detail you should work from the Schedule as well as the checklist, and that a refusal can be taken to the Cabinet Secretary for review under section 22(1) of the Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Service Act, 2011, with a further route to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Service Appeals Tribunal established by section 23 of that Act.
Every figure in this guide was checked against these sources on 5 August 2026. Where the Directorate’s published position and the consolidated Regulations differ, we say so rather than pick one.
Class D is an employment permit tied to a specific Kenyan employer, usually requiring a Kenyan understudy. Class G is for a person running a trade, business or consultancy and requires proof of capital of at least USD 100,000.
Up to six months. It is for short-term assignments or as a bridge while a longer permit is processed, at USD 200 per month for non-EAC nationals, and is not a substitute for a substantive permit.
Yes, but they apply under the consolidated Class R permit introduced by the December 2024 amendments, which is issued fee-free and covers employment, business and professional activity.
No. It is unlawful to work before authorisation is granted. A Special Pass can bridge the gap where work must start sooner.
Yes. A spouse and children can apply for dependant’s passes to reside in Kenya alongside the permit holder.
A non-refundable processing fee of KSh 20,000 applies to most classes, followed by an annual issuance fee once the permit is approved — KSh 500,000 a year for a Class D employment permit and KSh 250,000 a year for a Class G trade, business or consultancy permit. Citizens of East African Community partner states pay nothing. A Special Pass is charged at USD 200 per month. Allow for further costs including registration as a foreigner, dependants’ passes, document legalisation and professional fees.
The Directorate’s Service Delivery Charter 2025 sets a standard of 21 working days for a new work or residence permit and 10 working days for a renewal. In practice a complete and correctly classified Class D or Class G application commonly takes around 30 to 60 calendar days from submission to decision, and a Special Pass around two to four weeks against a 7 working day standard. Queries from the Directorate, missing tax compliance certificates or incomplete understudy documents extend that materially.
Every class requires Form 25, a signed cover letter addressed to the Director General of Immigration Services, the passport bio-data page, a recent photograph, current immigration status if you are already in Kenya, a valid tax compliance certificate and the certificate of registration of the organisation. Class D adds Form 27, academic and professional certificates, a curriculum vitae, full understudy documentation and evidence that the role could not be filled locally. Class G adds documentary proof of at least USD 100,000 of investment capital, incorporation documents, PIN certificates and a CR12.
No. A Class D permit is tied to the specific employer named in it and does not travel with you. Moving to a new employer requires a fresh application, and working for anyone other than the named employer puts both you and the new employer in breach.
Renewals are filed on the eFNS portal before the current permit expires, on the footing that the holder still meets the criteria for the class. Renewal bundles are more demanding than first applications: expect to produce tax compliance certificates for both the company and the individual, and, on a Class G renewal, signed audited accounts for the previous two years. Start the process well ahead of expiry rather than in the final weeks.
Yes. Registration as a foreigner is a separate step from the permit itself, and the resulting certificate is what you will be asked for in day-to-day dealings with banks, regulators and employers. Treat it as part of the same workstream rather than an afterthought.
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Our immigration team advises on work permit applications, special passes, dependant passes, renewals and compliance.
For any enquiries on this or any other matter, do not hesitate to contact us via email at [email protected].
Disclaimer: This article has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute a lawyer-client relationship. Nothing in this article is intended to guarantee, warranty, or predict the outcome of a particular case and should not be construed as such a guarantee, warranty, or prediction. The authors are not responsible for any actions (or lack thereof) taken as a result of relying on or in any way using information contained in this article and in no event shall be liable for any damages resulting from reliance on or use of this information. Readers should take specific advice from a qualified professional when dealing with specific situations.
