Thousands of foreigners living and working in Kenya have given the ongoing registration and verification exercise of work permits by the Department of Immigration Services a wide berth.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i says only 18,000 foreign citizens have so far presented themselves for vetting of their details, while over 80,000 have not showed up with 18 days to the deadline.
“We have been operating on a daily basis since the exercise begun on May 22nd. I’m optimistic that by the time we close, we shall have verified all the works permits and issued new ones. To date, 18,000 foreign workers have registered,” Matiang’i said.
Matiang’i said any foreigner found in possession of illegal or fake work permit and passports will be deported to their countries.
“We shall not allow work permits for people who want to work in fields which Kenyans can… We will only allow those with expertise which is rare in Kenya,” said Matiang’i.
He added: “We are making amendments on how illegal immigrants will be facilitating their own resources.”
“There are so many people who are jobless in this country yet some people are still bringing foreigners and giving them jobs. They should be prepared to leave as soon as the exercise comes to an end,” he said.
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