Danish Engineer living in USA wants to move to Kenya

Hi Soren.its great to know that you fell inlove with Kenya.there are ao many opportunities in that line but maybe you need to come down herw and do a survey as that will give you a clear picture of how you will go about starting something here.

Othwrwise all the best and karibu Kenya.

Hi Sausofie....

Thanks for your reply.  Yes that might be the best thing to do,

Asante Sana

Soren

Hello Soren and welcome to the forum.

Living and working in Kenya can be quite tricky.  There are a lot of threads on the subject of working in Kenya and on work (and other) permits required to live and work in the country.

This website may also help you:

http://www.immigration.go.ke/Information.html

Living in Kenya is not a problem at all for foreigners. The problem is finding a suitable job in time that you can depend on.  I dont know how it works but you can consider finding the job first before quiting your job in US. The salary range may also be lower but it is proportional to the cost of living  i.e housing , meals e.t.c may be cheaper here

Carolkhisa;  speaking as a foreigner, 'living' in Kenya using serial tourist visas (as many do) is not such a problem, but settling and working in Kenya, long term can be very difficult.

Kenyans cannot find jobs in the first place

dear soren ,
all opportunity's r open in kenya , even do ur own bussines for alot les money .
buh for all of that u need citizan first n ur workpermit .
there is lots of help around .
anyways find ur lady first n get married  for residency.
buh whatever u do bro , make sure  for whatever u do r build or   ur futureplans ,  put all in your name only

best regards

Coenraerd: That is quite inappropriate advice, you are portraying a bad image of Kenyan women which is betrayal especially after the country has accepted you. The advice here should be, to find a girlfriend at the right place. The mistake that foreigners make is meet prostitutes in the bar or at the beach whose intention is to make money from men and I think this is what happened to you. Why dont you  maybe find a girl in church or other better places, then have a marriage that is built on mutual trust other than start a marriage with doubt. Such marriages are never successful.

plz , this a good message to soren , for him to find a good lady n not just step up like that and move to kenya .
me am married with a good church lady , even that  am not religious , dosnt even matter
he should always take good advize , specially never to trust anyone , even as ur married .
anyways thats not the point
it is about him n not you Carol , so plz keep ur comments to ur self
this betray i know u think it about u
this guy is asking for advize n good info , n to be carefull always
moving to kenya is not easy afterall , specially immigration laws entc...........

soren , always lissen your heart  bro , n u wil get there

best regards

Yes, it is about him, but you can not mis advice him. I am Kenyan, marrying my long term German boyfriend this year and we own everything together and I would never betray him. He only offered capital to my business idea long time ago and everything else I built on my own. Now we can live a good life only from this business which still I have to be in charge for it to continue being successful,  This has created much trust among us and made us stronger. You can not imagine what financial division can do to a marriage. He can protect what he comes with into the marriage but after they start investing together and he trusts this lady,they should own their investments together. Grow up bro and start understanding these things

well , u supose to be lucky then rightt ,
not every one is to trust , it take time n patience
not all marriges r succesfull , that reality ok
dont think i dont understand  ok i do .
dont wanne continue in this topic again ,
pitty u u feel attacked

Coenraerds:  I also don't think that you are giving good advice.  If this your messages were to Soren only, then you should have sent a private message.  By posting on the forum, we have every right to comment.

"anyways find ur lady first n get married  for residency.
buh whatever u do bro , make sure  for whatever u do r build or   ur futureplans ,  put all in your name only"

Why would you use a Kenyan woman to get married for residency, then have the lack of trust to share.  I don't think that this is appropriate advice at all.

Example:  I have been married to a Kenyan lady for 20 years.  Everything is in joint names; property, bank accounts included.  I am still here and surviving.............very well in fact!

"all opportunity's r open in kenya , even do ur own bussines for alot les money .
buh for all of that u need citizan first n ur workpermit."

Unless you are in a position where you can apply for residency, or dual citizenship, you need a MINIMUM capital of $100,000 to apply for the Class G Permit, so doing your own business is not a cheap option!

thx longonot,
i wil figure it out , no need for 100.000 as i live in kenya
all depend on what busines i want to do , start smalll or big makes alot of divrence right .
so r u refering to the ngo project or a taverne club ??
i wil get citizan as whe marry in kenya ,
whe already married 7 years  so , no need to worry bout that
buh as u live in belgium , u wil know what i talk about

best regards

Coenraerds:  As you have been married for 7 years, I believe that you are eligible for dual citizenship (if this is permitted in Belgium), certainly Permanent Residence.  Both would allow you to work legally in Kenya without a work permit.  The application process for PR takes around a year to a year and a half.  This is arguably the best route for you.

In the meantime, if you want to operate a business (the taverne club, I assume), then you will need a Class G Permit, one of the requirements for this is that you have $100,000 in capital, either invested, or in the bank.   Alternatively, the business is set up using your wife's details!

For an NGO, I understand that a different procedure applies........but first you have to apply and register your NGO...............I don't think that one permit will be valid for both operations - they usually aren't.  The system isn't flexible.   The NGO couple who I know in Nyeri told me that renewing their permits was quite difficult this time around.