New Kenya-US Deal Makes Diplomats' Families Eligible for Work

Kenya and the United States signed an agreement that makes dependents of diplomatic officials posted in both countries eligible for employment.

The five-year agreement that was signed last August was revealed in the Fifth Report of the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary on Treaties Ratified by the Kenyan government in 2021 which was tabled in Parliament, according to Business Daily.

Under the treaty, adults who are immediate family members of diplomatic agents, consular officers, and members of administrative and technical staff assigned to diplomatic missions, consular offices, and missions to international organizations are allowed to work in the receiving countries.

“Dependents of the official employees of the government of the Republic of Kenya assigned to official duty in the territory of the United States of America and dependents of the official employees of the government of the United States of America assigned to official duty in the territory of the Republic of Kenya, are authorised to be employed in the territory of the receiving state after obtaining the appropriate authorisation in accordance with the provisions of this agreement,” the treaty states.

 “A dependent under this agreement shall not include a member of the immediate family of an individual who is permanently resident in the receiving state within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.”

The treaty further declares that a work permit shall not be extended to a dependent without evidence of an offer of employment in the receiving state.

“The number of work permits issued by either party to the dependents of official employees shall be limited to not more than 50 at any given time,” adds the treaty.

Both countries do not require an employer, as a condition of employing a dependent, to demonstrate that no citizen of the receiving state is available for such employment, according to the agreement.