The Director of Immigration Services
Nyayo House
P. O. Box 30191 – 00100
NAIROBI, Kenya
Telephone: +254 2 2222022,
Fax No. +254 2 220731
Email: dis@immigration.go.ke
The Immigration Ordinance of 1 st August 1948 formed the basis of the present day Immigration
Department, which was curved from the Police Department in 1950. The Immigration Ordinances were
revised in 1962 and 1964, when the latter was renamed the Immigration Act.
The Immigration Act of 1964 was revised and a new Immigration Act of 1967. Cap. 172 Laws of Kenya,
the current operational Act of the Department, came into force on 1 st Dec. 1967.After a lengthy period
of national consultation,a new constitution was formulated in 2010.
Citizenship issues were among the key the key issues that informed the constitutional change.Upon the
promulgation of the new constitution in August 2010,two Acts relating to Immigration Services were
passed in Parliament which are the:-
1.The Kenya Citizens and Foreighn Nationals Management Service Act ,2011.
2.Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act
Immigration Services and processes are currently governed by the two Acts passed by Parliament in
2011
At independence, the Department was placed in the Ministry of Home Affairs and was later transferred
to the Office of the President (OOP), then Ministry of Constitutional Affairs in the early eighties and
later back to the Office of the President. In the year 2003, the department was moved to the Ministry of
Home Affairs. In the year 2005, the Department reverted to OOP and was placed in the new Ministry of
Immigration and Registration of Persons.
Vision
“To be the best immigration services provider in the world.”
Mission
“To contribute to security and socio-economic development of the country by facilitating international
travel and regulating entry, exit, residency and citizenship.”
Functions
• To control and regulate entry and exit of all persons at our airports, seaports and land border
posts
• To control and regulate residency through issuance and renewal of permits/passes and
permanent residence as provided for the citizenship and Immigration Act 2011.
• To consider and grant Kenya citizenship to qualified foreigners under the Kenya Constitution and
theCitizenship Act Issuance of entry visas provided for under the Kenya visa regulations
• To register all non-citizens resident in Kenya under the Aliens Restriction Act and others
• Declaration and removal of prohibited immigrants
• To offer quasi-Consular functions on behalf of a number of commonwealth countries who are
not represented in Kenya and who have requested the Kenya government to do so
• To provide consular services to our nationals and foreigners at the missions abroad
• To investigate and prosecute persons who contravene the Immigration law as and regulations
• To enforce the Citizenship Act, the Immigration Act, the Aliens Restriction Act and the visa
regulations