Kenyan Immigration news
During the opening of the Magical Kenya Travel Expo held on 2 October 2024, the President announced the introduction of a Digital Nomad work permit and a transit and long-connection Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA).
The Digital Nomad work permit shall be issued to foreigners who are professionals and are able to perform their duties digitally and remotely. The Department of Immigration Services (DIS) is yet to publish the requirements. It should further be noted that depending on the duration that the permit will be issued and the time that the permit holder will work from Kenya, there will be a risk that a permanent establishment may be created, which will have has tax implications.
The Transit and Long-Connection Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) shall authorize travellers with long lay overs, to exit the airports and visit/tour Kenya. The DIS is yet to publish the requirements and costs.
We are closely following up with the DIS and shall share a further updates once received.

After 9 years within the Mobilitas Group, René Webster brings her people focused, hands on approach to propel Relocation Africa along a strong growth trajectory.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – 4 OCTOBER 2024

Relocation Africa is proud to announce that René Webster will be joining the business and bringing her analytical people focused approach to the team at our Head Office in Cape Town from October 2024 to scale the business into its next phase of growth, by combining her experience and skills with the reputation, processes and quality-centric services delivered by Relocation Africa to their clients for the past 31 years, so we become the Relocation Company of Choice in Africa.

When Relocation Africa started in 1994, to facilitate business flooding into the new South Africa, the entrepreneurial mother and daughter team of Rose and René Maytham could never have dreamt that 30 years later the business would be providing multiple mobility services across more than 30 countries across Africa. Although Rose left the business in the late 90’s, René and her husband, Andrew Stegmann, who joined the business in 2002, have grown the group to a point where it provides quality relocation, immigration, research, payroll and payment services to the mobility sector across Africa, however scaling a business requires different skills.

“Entrepreneurs can start business and grow revenue streams, but there are cleverer people with more structured and analytical skills that can accelerate the scaling of a business better than us.” says Andrew Stegmann, the MD of Relocation Africa. “We’re honoured to have someone of Webster’s experience and standing in the industry joining us to help scale into the future.” he finishes – showing the first hints at the new challenges they will be facing: how do they refer to the two René’s now leading in the business without getting mixed up.

René Stegmann and René Webster have always shared a mutual respect for each other, even as competitors, and have both helped shape the global mobility industry across Africa. Their shared passion for the continent and commitment to service excellence makes René Webster’s joining a natural fit, especially with her deep relationships globally and her extensive knowledge of the industry in Africa.

With René Webster on board, René Stegmann will step into a new role as Head of Strategy, which includes integrating ESG principles and leveraging technology to meet not only the client’s evolving needs, but also focused alignment with the global SDG’s. “Anyone who knows me, will understand how excited I am to be able to focus more time and energy on ESG. It’s a privilege having someone of René’s calibre joining our team, and even more so now that we’ve been chatting, I understand more how passionate she is too about sustainability and focusing on the SDG’s 2030 Agenda. The future is bright, for Relocation Africa”, she says confidently.

Having had a few months off, René Webster is rejoining the industry with a refreshed commitment and energy to provide inspiring leadership to the team at Relocation Africa. In the coming weeks, she will immerse herself in understanding the systems and processes that Relocation Africa employs to deliver exceptional services to clients. Following this, she will collaborate to design and implement a growth strategy that will maximise success for Relocation Africa’s clients into the future.

With a sparkle in her eye, René Webster says: “I’m incredibly excited to join Relocation Africa, mostly because of the amazing people here.” Anyone who knows me understands that I firmly believe success is driven by the strength of the team you’re part of, and I can already see how special this team is. I can’t wait to contribute to and grow with them as we take the business to new heights.

– END –

Contact details:

Cassidy Dauberman

Phone: 021 763-4240

Email: cassidy@relocationafrica.com

Website: www.relocationafrica.com

Kenyan immigration news
IMPORTANT UPDATE | Duration of Stay in Kenya upon Arrival at the Port of Entry, Visitor’s Pass Extension Applications and Sanction Fee for Overstaying
The Department of Immigration Services (DIS) effected the following changes as of 22 August 2024.
Duration of Stay in Kenya upon Arrival at the Port of Entry
 
Historically, the duration of stay was determined at the discretion of the immigration officials at the port of entry, for periods ranging from 1 to 90 days. The DIS has standardized this duration to a period of 3 months irrespective of the actual intended period of stay e.g., 2 weeks. Holders of eTAs will be required to strictly observe this period in default of which a sanction fee will be payable.
 
Visitor’s Pass Extension Applications
 
Foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Kenya have been applying for a visitor’s pass at no cost. This position has now changed as the DIS has implemented the US$ 50.00 fee for these applications. Similar to an eTA, the duration of stay has been standardized to a period of 3 months.
Sanction Fee for Overstaying
 
The DIS has implemented the sanction fee for overstay in the country at a rate of US$ 200.00 where a foreigner stays in the country for over 6 months (the period granted upon arrival in Kenya and the visitor’s pass extension period). Where the reason for overstaying was unavoidable e.g., due to illness or delays by the DIS in the issuance of work/residence authorisation, the DIS shall exercise their discretion and waive such fees.
Additional information
Please note that the DIS portal is currently experiencing downtime which has impacted the processing of applications. We are in regular contact with them and shall progress the applications and provide updates as soon as the system is up and running.

SA Immigration

We are delighted that Dr Leon Schreiber from the DA, has been appointed as the new Minister of The Department of Home Affairs. We are confident that his appointment will result in positive changes within the department and more specifically within the immigration division.

As Dr Schreibers first official act, a media statement has been released whereby extending the temporary concession for foreign nationals, who having pending visa, waiver and appeal applications in the system. The concession is extended until 31 December 2024 and relates to pending waiver applications, long term visa applications such as relative visas, work visa, study visas, business visa and visa appeal applications.

If a foreign national has a visitors visa in terms of Section 11(1) of the SA Immigration Act pending, their automatic concession is for a maximum of 90 days, beyond the current visa expiry date. For example. If a foreign national had a visitors visa which was valid until 31 May 2024 and they applied for an extension until 30 July 2024, if the extension outcome is not issued, the latest they may leave SA is end of August 2024 (90 days after the initial visa expired).