Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i announced a new law which foreigners coming to Kenya should comply with.
Under new guidelines, any foreigner who wants to work in Kenya will request for work permits ahead of their arrival in the country and will only be allowed entry once their applications are granted.
The Department of Immigration Services (DIS) will establish a digital registry where details of foreign workers will be stored in a addition to a raft of measures set to be adopted to improve the process of applying for work permits.
DIS will also formulate strict penalties to deter foreigners from working in the country without requisite permits.
[caption caption="Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi"]
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A report by the Interior CS revealed that a total of 3,434 foreigners were suspected to be working in the country illegally and they had been watch-listed after failing to authenticate their work permits in a verification exercise that lasted two months.
Matiang'i stated that 26,829 work permits had been verified with an additional 2,760 accounted for as the exercise came to a close.
“These 2,760 work permits were not verified due to various reasons such as unavailability of permit holders because of illness or travel,” Matiang'i remarked.
The work permits verification process resulted in the arrest of three brokers linked to a syndicate extorting unsuspecting foreigners seeking work permits with the promise of getting them the documents.
The verification exercise which commenced on May 22 was part of a commitment by the government to root out foreigners working in the country illegally.
[caption caption="Expatriates lining up at the Immigration Services Passport control office at Nyayo House on May 23, 2018"]
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At the beginning of the work permit registration exercise, the number of foreigners cleared to work in the country had been estimated at 34,000 amid concerns of foreigners exploiting tourist visas to gain access to the country’s job market without seeking work permits.
