Kenya · Business & founder
Class G Permit (Specific Trade, Business or Consultancy)
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open. The USD 100,000 threshold is verified on the Department of Immigration's own page, which asks for documentary proof of capital to be invested of at least USD 100,000. Keep in mind this is an administrative and policy threshold, not a statutory one. It can be changed without legislation.
This is the standard Kenyan investor route, and a reasonable one for an operator. But a family that does not need to run a Kenyan business can reach the same permanent residence clock through Class K, on USD 24,000 of passive income rather than USD 100,000 of capital at risk.
Qualifying routes
$100k
Trade, business or consultancy
Documentary proof of capital to be invested.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $100k
- Total landed cost
- USD 100,000 of capital, plus KES 20,000 processing and KES 250,000 a year, with dependants at KES 10,000 each. That works out to roughly KES 300,000 of government cost in year one for a family of four.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 3–12 months (No official service standard published.)
- Physical presence
- No explicit published day count.
- Family
- Spouse and dependent children at KES 10,000 each
- Permanent residency
- Permanent residence after 7 years on permits, plus 3 years' continuous residence. There is no PR-by-investment shortcut.
- Citizenship
- Registration after 7 years, with a Kiswahili or local-dialect speaking test.
- Language test
- Kiswahili or a local dialect.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Documentary proof of at least USD 100,000 capitalBusiness registrationClean criminal recordKES 250,000 annual fee
What can go wrong
- The USD 100,000 figure is administrative policy, not statute. It can be raised by circular, without a Finance Bill.
- Class K is cheaper and easier for anyone who does not need work rights. It carries the same fee and the same clock, but asks for USD 24k of income instead of USD 100k of capital.
- Kenya's territoriality is uncodified. It rests on KRA practice against a broadly worded charging section.
- The registered-citizen dual nationality question is unresolved. Resolve it with Kenyan counsel before starting the 7-year clock.
- NIFC's 15% rate requires at least KES 3bn invested within 3 years, far beyond a family office. ENS notes that NIFC incentives remain subject to future fiscal review by Parliament.
- The Finance Bill 2024 episode showed that Kenyan tax policy can be reversed by street protest within weeks.