New Procedure to Verify Clearance Letters Likely to Delay Start Dates

Kenya

Long-term work permit applicants seeking to work in industries that are regulated by certain government agencies are subject to a new procedure in which the immigration authorities verify clearance and/or support letters provided by such regulatory bodies. This change particularly affects applications from companies in the Oil and Gas Sector and the Information and Media industries (however, all regulated industries are affected), and is likely to delay assignment start dates and planned relocation schedules.

For instance, an application for a foreign national seeking to work for an oil and gas company must be submitted with a clearance letter from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, while a journalist’s application must be cleared by the Ministry of Information and Communication. Immigration authorities may request that the respective agency that provided the clearance letter further verify that it in fact provided the clearance. Immigration authorities have, in certain cases, also requested bank support documents from applicants.

What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals

Employers are advised to initiate requests for new or renewal applications that require clearance from regulatory bodies early to account for unforeseen delays. Employers should advise employees with pending applications of these delays as they are likely to impact assignment start dates and planned relocation schedules.

Where possible, employers may consider short-term assignments as short-term passes may not be impacted by this change, subject to the discretion of the Kenyan Department of Immigration Services.

Fragomen will continue to closely monitor the situation and report on further updates.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].

Fragomen in Kenya is Fragomen Kenya Limited, operating exclusively as an immigration consultancy and not as a law firm in Kenya.

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