Work abroad

Work Abroad From Kenya: Safe Routes, Agency Checks and Guides

Everything you need before taking a job outside Kenya: how to check a recruitment agency, the legal steps from offer to attested contract, and guides for the most common destinations and careers.

Start here: check the agency

Most of the money Kenyans lose on overseas jobs is lost before they ever travel, to agents who are not licensed. Kenyan law requires anyone recruiting Kenyans for work abroad to be a private employment agency registered through the National Employment Authority (NEA). The official list is on the NEA’s online system, NEAIMS. Check that the licence is valid, that it covers foreign recruitment, and that the phone number you have been given matches the one on the register.

Our free Abroad Jobs Verifier takes you through those checks on your phone in about two minutes and sends nothing to us. If you have an advert you are unsure about, run it through the Fake Job Advert Checker as well.

The legal route in five steps

  1. Find the job through a registered agency or an official government programme. Registered agencies post approved foreign job adverts on NEAIMS, each with an advert number, country and closing date.
  2. Get a written contract in English. It should state your job, employer, city, salary, hours, leave, contract length and who pays for the visa, ticket and medical examination.
  3. Have the contract attested. The Ministry of Labour requires a labour officer to authenticate a foreign contract of service before you travel. The officer checks that you understand and agree to the terms, that they comply with Kenyan law and that you are medically fit. Details are on the ministry’s foreign contracts page.
  4. Attend pre-departure orientation training. The NEA explains that this training covers your rights, adapting to the destination country, sending money home and preparing to return.
  5. Check your documents before you fly. A passport valid for at least six months, the correct work visa, your attested contract and the contacts of the Kenyan embassy or consulate in the destination country.

Each step is explained in detail in our guide to Gulf jobs for Kenyans, which applies to most destinations, not only the Gulf.

Guides by destination and career

More guides are on the way, covering the UK health and care route, Canada, and what to check in a contract before you sign. They will be added here as they are published.

Red flags found in overseas job offers

One warning sign does not prove an offer is fake, but each one means you should stop and verify before going further:

  • The agency is not on the NEA register, or its contacts differ from the register.
  • You are asked for a “slot”, “booking” or “processing” fee before seeing a contract.
  • Payment goes to a personal M-Pesa number rather than a company account with an official receipt.
  • You are told to travel on a visit or tourist visa and “change it there”.
  • The agent wants to keep your passport for weeks with no written reason.
  • You are asked to sign the contract at the airport, or to sign a blank page.

If something goes wrong abroad

Register with the Kenyan embassy or consulate when you arrive and keep its contacts saved. If wages are withheld, your contract is broken or you face abuse, contact the mission first. Complaints about labour contracts can also go to the State Department for Labour, copied to the NEA. In Kenya, report a suspected fake agency to the NEA and the police.

Preparing your documents

Overseas employers and agencies usually ask for the same documents Kenyan employers do, plus a passport and medical certificate. Our clearance certificates checklist covers police clearance (certificate of good conduct) and other documents, and the free CV builder creates a clean CV that works for foreign recruiters.