Kenya
Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Date of Independence: December 12, 1963
Capital: Nairobi
Population: 48,417,000 (2020 Estimate)
Foreign-born Population: 1.08 million (2015 Estimate)
Government Structure: Unitary multiparty republic with two legislative houses- Senate, National Assembly
Leaders(s): Uhuru Kenyatta
Primary Flow of Immigration:
Regional hub for irregular migration as a destination, origin, and transit country towards other African countries, the Middle East, Europe, and North America
Kenya is also a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking
Kenyans and immigrants alike are at risk of trafficking, typically from Kenya to the Middle East
Human trafficking in Kenya has an estimated value of $40 million USD on the black market
Kenya hosts a large asylum-seeking and refugee population. This is due to its location in a conflict-prone area; neighbors Somalia and South Sudan have experienced ongoing civil wars that have caused both internal and external displacement of large segments of their population
Current Stance on Immigration:
Immigration is managed by the country’s Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Kenya recognizes two classes of refugees: prima facie refugees and statutory refugees
Terrorist attacks prompted Kenya to introduce changes to its refugee policy- requires all asylum seekers and refugees in urban areas to relocate to designated camps
Although refugees have been given informal employment in the past, this is getting increasingly difficult as the encampment policy disallows their ability to move around the country
Work permits are rarely issued to refugees
In practice, Kenya does not naturalize refugees
All asylum seekers and refugees are required to live in designated refugee camps and need a movement pass to travel outside the camp
Preferred Destinations of Emigrants:
(As of 2015)
United Kingdom: 151,073
United States: 105,467
Uganda: 43,512
Canada: 27,929
Tanzania: 27,247
Recent Immigration Policy:
Work permit renewal applications must be accompanied by a tax compliance certificate
Government authorities are becoming more strict about long and short term work authorization, with an increase in rejections
Employers must maintain records about their employees for the National Employment Authority
Further Reading:
“2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Kenya.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 1 Dec. 2020, www.state.gov/reports/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report/kenya/#:~:text=As%20reported%20over%20the%20past,%2C%20street%20vending%2C%20and%20begging.
“Al-Shabab: Timeline.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 2020, www.cfr.org/timeline/al-shabab.
“Kenya.” Migration Policy Institute, 1 July 2020, www.migrationpolicy.org/country-resource/kenya.
Momanyi, Simeon Mokaya. “The Impact of Al-Shabaab Terrorist Attacks in Kenya.” The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Humanities, Social Science and Education Centre for Peace Studies, 0AD, www.munin.uit.no/bitstream/handle/10037/9848/thesis.pdf?sequence=1.
—Salloni Sunderaj
Sources:
“Determination of Refugee Status (RLD 2) .” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, www.refworld.org/pdfid/3ae6b35c0.pdf.
Goitom, Hanibal. Refugee Law and Policy: Kenya, 1 Mar. 2016, www.loc.gov/law/help/refugee-law/kenya.php.
“Guidelines on International Protection No. 11: Prima Facie Recognition of Refugee Status.” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, June 2015, www.unhcr.org/en-us/publications/legal/558a62299/guidelines-international-protection-11-prima-facie-recognition-refugee.html.
“Kenya Immigration Statistics 1960-2021.” MacroTrends, 2021, www.macrotrends.net/countries/KEN/kenya/immigration-statistics.
Khalifa, Darren, and Noah Bonsey. “Al-Shabaab's Attacks in East Africa: A Timeline.” International Crisis Group, 3 Mar. 2020, www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/al-shabaabs-attacks-east-africa-timeline.
Migration in Kenya, 2015. www.publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/migration_profile_kenya.pdf
“New Directives Issued Enforcing Immigration Laws.” Fragomen, July 2019, www.fragomen.com/insights/alerts/new-directives-issued-enforcing-immigration-laws .
Ominde, Simeon Hongo. “Kenya.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/Kenya.
“UNHCR Global Appeal 2014-2015 - Kenya.” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, www.unhcr.org/publications/fundraising/528a0a244/unhcr-global-appeal-2014-2015-kenya.html.
Youha, Ali Al, and Froilan Malit. “Kenyan Migration to the Gulf Countries: Balancing Economic Interests and Worker Protection.” Migration Policy Institute, 9 July 2020, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/kenyan-migration-gulf-countries-balancing-economic-interests-and-worker-protection#:~:text=The%20United%20Kingdom%20has%20become,Canada%20(see%20Figure%201).
