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Immigration Act, Cap 172 (last amended 1972)

Date of entry into force:01 December 1967

This legislation includes amendments up to and including: 1972

2. Interpretation

(1)In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires -

"child" includes a child adopted under the Adoption Act, but does not include -

(a)a child adopted otherwise than under that Act, unless the Minister is satisfied that the circumstances of the adoption were such as sustantially to satisfy the requirements of subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) of section 4 of that Act;

(b)a married woman; or

(c)a person who has attained the age of eighteen years;

"entry permit" means an entry permit issued under section 5 of this Act, or a provisional entry permit issued under section 20 of this Act;

"immigration officer" means any person appointed to that office pursuant to section 10 of this Act;

"medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner appointed for the purposes of this Act by the Minister for the time being responsible for health;

"pass" means a pass to enter and remain temporarily in, or to re-enter, Kenya, issued under regulations made under this Act, and includes any class or description of pass which may be so prescribed;

"passport" means a passport issued to a person by or on behalf of the government of the State of which he is a subject, or a valid passport or other valid travel document or document of identity issued to a person by an authority recognized by the Government of Kenya, such passport or document being complete and having endorsed thereon all particulars, endorsements and visas required from time to time by the government or authority issuing the passport or document or by the Government of Kenya or by any written law;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under this Act;

"prohibited immigrant" has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 3 of this Act;

"the repealed Acts" means the Acts repealed and the subsidiary legislation revoked by section 22 of this Act.

(2)In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, any reference to this Act includes a reference to regulations made thereunder.

Prohibited Immigrants

3. Prohibited Immigrants.

(1)In this Act, a prohibited immigrant means a person who is not a citizen of Kenya and who is -

(a)incapable of supporting himself and his dependants (if any) in Kenya;

(b)a mental defective or a person suffering from mental disorder;

(c)a person who -

(i)refuses to submit to examination by a medical practitioner after being required to do so under section 11 (1) (d) of this Act; or

(ii)is certified by a medical practitioner to be suffering from a disease which makes his presence in Kenya undesirable for medical reasons;

(d)a person who, not having received a free pardon, has been convicted in any country, including Kenya, of murder or of any offence for which a sentence of imprisonment has been passed for any term and who, by reason of such conviction, is considered by the Minister to be an undesirable immigrant;

(e)a prostitute, or a person who is living on or receiving, or who before entering Kenya lived on or received, the proceeds of prostitution;

(f)a person who, in consequence of information received from any government or from any other source considered by the Minister to be reliable, is considered by the Minister to be an undesirable immigrant;

(g)a person, or a member of a class of persons, whose presence in Kenya is declared by the Minister to be contrary to the national interests;

(h)a person who, upon entering or seeking to enter Kenya, fails to produce a valid passport to an immigration officer on demand or within such time as that officer may allow;

(i)a person who was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, a prohibited immigrant within the meaning of the former Immigration Act (now repealed) by reason of paragraph (f) or paragraph (g) of section 7 (2) of that Act;

(j)a person whose presence in or entry into Kenya is unlawful under any written law other than this Act;

(k)a person in respect of whom there is in force an order made or deemed to be made under section 8 of this Act directing that such person shall be removed from and remain out of Kenya;

(l)a dependant of any of the persons mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs of this subsection.

(2)Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the entry into and presence in Kenya of a prohibited immigrant shall be unlawful, and a person seeking to enter Kenya shall, if he is a prohibited immigrant, be refused permission to enter Kenya, whether or not he is in possession of any document which, were it not for this section, would entitle him to enter Kenya.

(3)An immigration officer may in his discretion issue a prohibited immigrant's pass to a prohibited immigrant, permitting him to enter and remain temporarily in Kenya for such period and subject to such conditions as may be specified in that pass.

Entry and Removal of Immigrants.

4. Prohibition on entry without permit or pass

(1)Subject to this section, no person who is not a citizen of Kenya shall enter Kenya unless he is in possession of a valid entry permit or a valid pass.

(2)Subject to this section, the presence in Kenya of any person who is not a citizen of Kenya shall, unless otherwise authorized under this Act, be unlawful, unless that person is in possession of a valid entry permit or a valid pass.

(4)Where any person ceases to be a person to whom subsection (3) of this section refers, then, after the expiration of such reasonable period following that cessation as an immigration officer may in his discretion allow for the departure of that person from Kenya, his presence in Kenya shall, unless otherwise authorized under this Act, be unlawful.

5. Issue of entry permits

(1)There shall be the classes of entry permits specified in the Schedule to this Act.

(2)Where a person, other than a prohibited immigrant, has made application in the prescribed manner for an entry permit of a particular class, and has satisfied an immigration officer that he belongs to that class and that the conditions specified in the said Schedule in relation to that class are fulfilled, the immigration officer may, in his discretion, issue an entry permit of that class to that person.

(3)Any person who has applied for an entry permit of any of the classes E to M (inclusive) and who is aggrieved by a decision refusing him such an entry permit may, in the manner and within the time prescribed, appeal against that decision to the Minister, whose decision shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court.

6. Invalidation of entry permits

(1)Where an entry permit, other than an entry permit of class K, L or M has been issued to a person, and that person, without having obtained the written approval of an immigration officer -

(a)has failed to engage, within fourteen days of the date of issue of the entry permit or of that person's entry into Kenya, whichever is the later, in the employment, occupation, trade, business or profession in respect of which that entry permit was issued; or

(b)has ceased to engage in the said employment, occupation, trade, business or profession; or

(c)has engaged in any employment, occupation, trade, business or profession, whether or not for remuneration or profit, other than the said employment, occupation, trade, business or profession, that entry permit shall thereupon cease to be valid and the presence of that person in Kenya shall, unless otherwise authorized under this Act, be unlawful.

(2)Where an entry permit of class K or L has been issued to a person, and that person, without having obtained the written approval of an immigration officer, engages in any employment, occupation, trade, business or profession, whether or not for remuneration or profit, that entry permit shall thereupon cease to be valid and the presence of that person in Kenya shall, unless otherwise authorized under this Act, be unlawful.

(3)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to the provisions of any other written law, a person to whom an entry permit of class M is issued may engage in any occupation, trade, business or profession, and sections 4 and 5 of this Act shall not apply to any child under the age of fourteen years of any such person.

7. Permits, etc., void for fraud, etc.

Any entry permit, pass, certificate or other authority, whether issued under this Act or under the repealed Acts, which has been obtained by or was issued in consequence of fraud or misrepresentation, or the concealment or non-disclosure, whether intentional or inadvertent, of any material fact or circumstance, shall be and be deemed always to have been void and of no effect.

8. Power to remove persons unlawfully in Kenya

(1)The Minister may by order in writing direct that any person whose presence in Kenya was, immediately before the making of that order, unlawful under this Act, or in respect of whom a recommendation has been made to him under section 26A of the Penal Code, shall be removed from and remain out of Kenya either indefinitely or for such period as may be specified in the order.

(2)A person to whom an order made under this section relates shall -

(a)be removed to the place from whence he came, or with the approval of the Minister, to a place in the country to which he belongs, or to any place to which he consents to be removed if the Government of that place consents to receive him;

(b)if the Minister so directs, be kept in prison or in police custody until his departure from Kenya, and while so kept shall be deemed to be in lawful custody.

(3)Subject to this section, an order under this section shall be carried out in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(4)Any order made or directions given under this section may at any time be varied or revoked by the Minister by further order in writing.

(5)In the case of a person who arrives in Kenya as a stowaway, the powers of the Minister under this section may be exercised either by the Minister or by an immigration officer, and this section shall have effect accordingly.

(6)Any order made before the commencement of this Act under the repealed Acts directing that a person be removed or deported from Kenya and remain out of Kenya, whether indefinitely or for a specified period, shall for all the purposes of this Act (including the exercise of the Minister's powers under subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section) be deemed to be an order made under this section, and shall be enforced accordingly.

(7)An order made or deemed to have been made under this section shall, for so long as it provides that the person to whom it relates shall remain out of Kenya, continue to have effect as an order for the removal from Kenya of that person whenever he is found in Kenya, and may be enforced accordingly: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall prevent the prosecution for an offence under this Act or any other written law of any person who returns to Kenya in contravention of such an order.

(8)Where a person is brought before a court as being unlawfully present in Kenya, and the court is informed that an application to the Minister for an order under this section has been made or is about to be made, the court may order that such person be detained in prison or in police custody for a period not exceeding fourteen days, pending a decision by the Minister.

12. Power of arrest and search of persons

(1)Any immigration officer of police officer who has reasonable cause to suspect that a person has committed an offence under this Act, or is unlawfully present in Kenya, may, if it appears to him to be necessary to do so in order to secure that the purposes of this Act shall not be defeated, arrest that person without warrant; and sections 33 and 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code shall apply to any such arrest as if the reference in the said section 33 to a police officer included a reference to an immigration officer.

(2)Any person other than a citizen of Kenya who, having been ordered to be deported from any country, enters Kenya on his way to his final destination, may be arrested without warrant by any immigration officer or police officer and may be detained in prison or in police custody for so long as is necessary for arrangements to be made for his departure from Kenya, and shall be deemed to be in lawful custody while so detained.

(3)A person who is not a citizen of Kenya shall, on being required to do so by an immigration officer or a police officer -

(a)declare whether or not he is carrying or conveying any documents;

(b)produce to the officer any documents which he is carrying or conveying;

and an immigration officer or police officer may search any such person, and any baggage belonging to him or under his control, in order to ascertain whether that person is carrying or conveying any documents, and may examine, and may detain for such time as he thinks proper for the purpose of examination, any documents produced to him or found on such a search.

(4)An immigration officer may by summons in writing require any person other than a citizen of Kenya to attend at his office and to furnish to that officer such information, documents and other particulars as are necessary for the purposes of determining whether that person should be permitted to remain in Kenya.

SCHEDULE - CLASSES OF ENTRY PERMITS

CLASS A:

A person who is offered specific employment by a specific employer, who is qualified to undertake that employment, and whose engagement in that employment will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS B:

A person who is offered specific employment by the Government of Kenya, the Community or any other person or authority under the control of the Government or the Community, and whose engagement in that employment will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS C:

A person who is offered specific employment under an approved technical aid scheme under the United Nations Organization or some other approved Agency (not being an exempted person under section 4 (3) of this Act), and whose engagement in that employment will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS D:

A person, being the holder of a dependant's pass, who is offered specific employment by a specific employer, whose engagement in that employment will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS E:

A person who is a member of a missionary society approved by the Government of Kenya, and whose presence in Kenya will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS F:

A person who intends to engage, whether alone or in partnership, in the business of agriculture or animal husbandry in Kenya, and who -

(a)has acquired, or has received all permissions that may be necessary in order to acquire, an interest in land of sufficient size and suitability for the purpose; and

(b)has in his own right and at his full and free disposition sufficient capital and other resources for the purposes, and whose engagement in that business will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS G:

A person who intends to engage, whether alone or in partnership, in prospecting for minerals or mining in Kenya, and who -

(a)has obtained, or is assured of obtaining, any prospecting or mining right or licence that may be necessary for the purpose; and

(b)has in his own right and his full and free disposition sufficient capital and other resources for the purpose, and whose engagement in that prospecting or mining will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS H:

A person who intends to engage, whether alone or in partnership, in a specific trade, business or profession (other than a prescribed profession) in Kenya, and who -

(a)has obtained, or is assured of obtaining, any licence, registration or other authority or permission that may be necessary for the purpose; and

(b)has in his own right and at his full and free disposition sufficient capital and other resources for the purpose, and whose engagement in that trade, business or profession will be to the benefit of Kenya.

CLASS I:

A person who intends to engage, whether alone or in partnership, in a specific manufacture in Kenya, and -

(a)has obtained, or is assured of obtaining, any licence, registration or other authority or permission that may be necessary for the purpose; and

(b)has in his own right and at his full and free disposition sufficient capital and other resources for the purpose, and whose engagement in that manufacture will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS J:

A member of a prescribed profession who intends to practise that profession, whether alone or in partnership, in Kenya, and who -

(a)possesses the prescribed qualifications; and

(b)has in his own right and at his full and free disposition sufficient capital and other resources for the purpose, and whose practice of that profession will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS K:

A person who -

(a)is not less than twenty-one years of age; and

(b)has in his own right and his full and free disposition an assured annual income of not less than the prescribed amount, being an income that is assured, and that is derived from sources other than any such employment, occupation, trade, business or profession as is referred to in the description of any of the classes specified in this Schedule, and being an income that either -

(i)is derived from sources outside, and will be remitted to Kenya; or

(ii)is derived from property situated, or a pension or annuity payable from, sources in Kenya; or

(iii)will be derived from a sufficient investment capital to produce such assured income that will be brought into and invested in Kenya; and

(c)undertakes not to accept paid employment of any kind should he be granted an entry permit of this class, and whose presence in Kenya will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS L:

A person who is not in employment, whether paid or unpaid, and who under the repealed Acts was issued with a resident's certificate, or who would have on application been entitled to the issue of such certificate, or who has held an entry permit or entry permits (whether issued under this Act or the repealed Acts or both) of any of the foregoing classes of entry permit A-K for a continuous period of not less than ten years immediately before the date of application, and whose presence in Kenya will be of benefit to Kenya.

CLASS M:

A person who is a refugee, that is to say, is, owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of the country of his nationality or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence for any particular reason, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to such country, and any wife or child over the age of thirteen years of such a refugee.

Topics: Immigrants, Immigration law,