Kenya starts enforcing the line between visa-free entry and the right to work

Kenya began enforcing a directive on Monday 7 September against foreign nationals running small shops and hawking without the right immigration status, and the government used the moment to state a rule that is easy to miss. Visa-free entry, and exemption from the Electronic Travel Authorisation, do not give anyone permission to work, trade or run a business in Kenya. The Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry said so in a statement on Sunday 6 September, and attached a consequence: people found in breach will have their visas revoked. Kenya remains open to visitors on the same terms as before, and to foreigners who hold the correct permits. What has changed is that the gap between arriving lawfully and earning lawfully is now being policed.

How this came about

President William Ruto set the date on Wednesday 2 September, addressing micro, small and medium-sized enterprise traders at State House in Nairobi. He directed authorities to begin shutting down small businesses operated by foreign nationals from 7 September, arguing that hawking and small-scale retail should be reserved for Kenyans while larger, capital-intensive foreign investment remains welcome. "We have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya. It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to be a hawker or open a small shop," he said. Ruto framed the move as administrative action to be taken while Parliament considers the Local Content Bill 2025, which would require foreign companies to increase local sourcing and employment. That Bill has not been enacted. He also asked National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah to work with the State Department for Immigration on the permit requirements that should govern foreign investors and traders, which is an acknowledgement that the rules at the boundary are not currently settled.

What the ministry actually said

Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui’s statement is narrower than the political rhetoric around it, and worth reading closely. Kenya will keep admitting people under its visa-free and eTA-exemption arrangements. "Visa-free entry or exemption from eTA requirements does not in itself confer the right to engage in employment, trade or business in Kenya," he said. "Such activities remain subject to the applicable immigration, work permit and other regulatory requirements." He described the target as people who entered on a tourist or investor footing and then did something else: "There has been deliberate misuse of visa applications by some visitors, leading to persons on investor or tourist status engaging in activities contrary to the provisions of the grant." The enforcement line was explicit: "Persons found in contravention of the applicable visa provisions will have their visas revoked in accordance with the law." He added that Kenya’s obligations to East African Community partner states would remain a consideration, and that "Kenya remains open and welcoming to legitimate investors and businesses that operate within the law". On 6 September, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei said separately that foreign nationals holding the necessary work permits and licences remain legally protected to operate.

Who should pay attention

The visible target is small-scale retail and hawking, and the immediate effect has been felt by regional traders. Reuters reported that hundreds of Burundians queued outside their embassy in Nairobi on 7 September seeking travel documents to go home, some saying they had been threatened by neighbours since Ruto’s remarks; UNHCR estimates about 16,000 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers live in Kenya, many running small businesses in Nairobi. But the principle the ministry stated is general, and it reaches people who would not think of themselves as traders. A remote worker who arrived on an eTA and has started invoicing Kenyan clients, a consultant who came for a conference and stayed on to deliver a project, someone testing a business idea in Nairobi before committing to a permit: all of those sit on the wrong side of the line the ministry drew, whatever the enforcement priority happens to be this month. Kenya is not a large employer of foreign nationals in aggregate. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics found that surveyed foreign-invested enterprises employed 224,769 people in June 2024, of whom 221,267 were Kenyan, leaving foreign staff at 1.6 per cent of that workforce. The exposure here sits with individuals and very small operations rather than with firms that have in-house compliance.

What to do about it

If you are earning in Kenya, check what your current permission actually authorises rather than what it lets you do in practice. The relevant permit is issued by the Directorate of Immigration Services, and applications run through the eCitizen platform. If you hold a permit, keep the certificate and any licences where you can produce them quickly, because the enforcement described is street-level. If you are planning a move and intend to work or start something, treat the permit as the first step rather than a formality to sort out after arrival, and budget the processing time into your plans. If your situation is ambiguous, for example remote work for a foreign employer while living in Kenya, take local advice before the question is put to you at a counter. Our /country-guides/kenya page sets out the entry and permit routes in more detail.