In response to concerns from Kenyans seeking foreign jobs about the two-month delay in document approval, the government has explained the reasons behind the extended verification process.
Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime announced that Kenyans seeking to travel abroad will continue to undergo a more stringent yet streamlined verification process.
This process requires coordination between Kenyan embassies in destination countries and the respective foreign embassies in Kenya, contributing to the delays experienced in verification.
According to Mwadime, the recent government directive barring recruitment agencies from interviewing Kenyans seeking jobs abroad has also impacted processing times. Instead, prospective employers from foreign countries must now travel to Kenya to conduct the interviews themselves.
"The employer from the destination will have to come to Kenya to conduct the interviews. The interviews are not conducted by the private recruitment agency but by the employer," Mwadime stated.
"The moment a private recruitment agency is able to secure these slots abroad, testation will have to be done by our embassy in that foreign country. Once our embassy does that, the recruiter will have to upload the information to our systems, so as to enable any Kenyan to see that job and apply for it," he added.
However, the PS revealed that the government was still considering viable options to significantly reduce the verification process.
This was in response to concerns from a section of Kenyans, particularly those seeking jobs in the medical field—especially nursing—who reported that the verification process took longer.
Among the steps taken by the government to address this, the PS said, was the digitisation of the system to enable the government to verify whether the job offers were genuine.
"The verification is now done online, and therefore, going digital has been of great assistance in reducing the time required for us to verify whether that job is genuine or not."
The PS statement came in response to the rising cases of Kenyans travelling abroad and falling victim to forced labour—such as the 64 Kenyans currently stranded in Thailand after being evacuated from Myanmar.
The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs on Monday confirmed that 64 Kenyans are currently waiting at the Thai-Myanmar border, ready to cross into Thailand after being rescued from a scam compound.
The Ministry added that the 64 were part of a group of over 7,000 foreigners rescued by two armed groups, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Border Guard Force (BGF).
