Frequently asked questions

Create a free account on eCitizen, the Government of Kenya single sign-on, and use it to sign in to eFNS.

If you cannot use eCitizen, you can create an eFNS account from the sign-in page instead.

No. Sign in with your personal eCitizen account. The exception is an eVisa or business eCitizen account: if that is the account you have, create an eFNS account instead.

Fees are paid online through eCitizen, by M-PESA, Airtel Money or card, against the invoice in your account. Cash is not accepted at immigration counters. Processing fees are non-refundable.

Once you have completed the application, open My applications in your dashboard and print it from there.

Yes, once the whole application is complete and until processing starts: open it from My applications in your dashboard. After processing starts the application is locked, and if anything more is needed the officer handling it will ask you through your account.

Your account shows the current stage of every application, and you receive an email whenever it moves on or an officer needs something from you.

Sub-counties are linked to counties. Choose your county first, and its sub-counties load for you to choose from.

Your employer in Kenya applies to the Director of Immigration Services for the entry or work permit. One account can hold applications for several people, so employers and families can apply on behalf of others.

Kenya Visitor’s Pass (KVP). Someone who is not yet in the country will need a visitor’s pass on arrival, depending on their nationality.

No. For a renewal, attach your current audited financial statements as the supporting financial document.

Not if you hold a work permit.

You can appeal to the Cabinet Secretary for a review of the decision, under section 22(1) of the Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Service Act, 2011.

Every foreign national who lives in Kenya for more than 90 days must register and hold a foreign national certificate (alien card). These people are exempt:

• serving members of the armed forces
• public officers, and their spouses and children
• people exempted under section 34(3) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011
• registered refugees
• visitors staying no more than three months with a valid visitor’s pass or other authority, such as a special pass

Between three months and a year.

Yes, but only spouses and children.

No. The law also requires an unbroken status for at least the three years before you apply.

Yes. Permanent residents can take up any lawful employment or business without a work permit. They still need a foreign national certificate (alien card).

Yes, if they meet the requirements. Permanent residence ends automatically when citizenship is acquired.

No. They can apply for citizenship as a widow or widower instead.

First establish whether the Kenyan spouse lost Kenyan citizenship under the repealed constitution. If they did, they must regain it before their spouse can qualify for permanent residence on the basis of marriage. Otherwise, the spouse qualifies.

Yes, if the marriage is registered with the Registrar of Marriages in Kenya and the record has existed for at least three years. The registrar may be asked to verify it.

No. It is lifelong, unless revoked under section 39 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011.

Yes, except for former Kenyan citizens, who get theirs from their country of domicile.

Yes.

No.

Yes, as long as each has a valid marriage certificate for a genuine marriage of more than three years.

Yes, and they must report any absence from Kenya of one year or more.

Apply through a Kenyan high commission or embassy with a copy of the birth certificate, or its entry number, and the completed Duplicate Birth Certificate Search Form. A fee is payable to the mission.

Complete the passport application form and submit it with two photographs, the child’s birth certificate and the application fee.

On arrival, apply for a dependant pass for the child at an immigration office, and register the child as a Kenyan citizen. A passport can then be issued on application.

Yes. The child is a Kenyan citizen by birth and can be issued with a Kenyan passport.

Parents can sign the visa application for their children until the children are able to sign or write their own names.

No. One payment can cover all of them.

Usually seven business days from receipt of the signed application form, although some cases take longer.

Apply for a new passport.

About ten weeks.

No. Passports are issued at the immigration office in Nairobi. Missions process applications and forward them to the Department of Immigration Services in Nairobi.