Date of publication:

01/09/2026

Kenya

Do domestic laws and policies allow forcibly displaced and stateless persons to engage in wage-earning employment and protect them against arbitrary deprivation of, or dismissal from, employment?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Analysis

The Refugees Act of 2021, under article 28 (5), provides that a recognized refugee has the right to engage in gainful employment subject to the laws applicable and taking into special consideration the special circumstances of refugees. However, the law has not clarified the applicable laws that such rights are subjected to and has not clarified the meaning of “the special consideration or the special circumstances”. Furthermore, as per article 8(2) (V) of the Refugee Act, that lists the power and mandate of the Commission that oversees refugee matters, provides that the Commissioner has the responsibility to ensure that the economic and productive activities of refugees do not have a negative impact on host communities, natural resources, or the local environment. The provision gives wide discretion to the Commission to take any action including limiting the right to wage earning employment.

The Refugees Act, under 28 (1)(a), emphasized that every refugee and every asylum seeker is entitled to the rights and be subject to the duties contained in the UN Convention, its protocol and the OAU Convention. Furthermore, article 2(6) of the Constitution of Kenya, establishes that all treaties ratified by Kenya form part of the laws of Kenya. Hence, pursuant to 17 (1) of the 1951 Refugees Convention, refugees lawfully staying in Kenya are entitled to the most favorable treatment accorded to nationals of a foreign country in the same circumstances as regards to the right to engage in wage-earning employment. However, the interpretation and practice of the Government of Kenya regarding wage earning employment and broadly gainful employment shows that refugees are entitled to same treatment as any ordinary foreigners. 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    The Refugee Act

    Legal provision

    Section 28 - Rights and obligations of Refugees

    Subject to this Act, every refugee and every asylum seeker within Kenya shall be entitled to the rights and be subject— (a) to the duties contained in the UN Convention, its Protocol and the OAU Convention; and (b) all the laws in force in Kenya. (2) The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette and in consultation with the relevant county governments, designate specific counties to host refugees. (3) The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, designate places and areas in Kenya to be transit centres for purposes of temporarily accommodating refugees. (4) Subject to this Act, refugees shall be enabled to contribute to the economic and social development of Kenya by facilitating access to, and issuance of, the required documentation at both levels of Government. (5) Subject to the laws applicable and taking into special consideration the special circumstances of refugees, a refugee recognized under this Act shall have the right to engage individually or in a group, in gainful employment or enterprise or to practice a profession or trade where he holds qualifications recognized by competent authorities in Kenya. (6) A refugee and an asylum seeker shall have the right to identification and civil registration documents and such documents shall be sufficient to identify a refugee or asylum seeker for the purposes of access to rights and services under this Act and any other applicable law. (7) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, and subject to the special circumstances of refugees, the Refugee Identity Card shall at a minimum have a similar status to the Foreign National Registration Certificate issued under section 56 (2) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act (No. 12 of 2011) for the purposes of accessing the rights and fulfilling obligations under this law. (8) A person from a Partner State of the East African Community who has been recognised as a refugee under this Act may opt to voluntarily give up his or her refugee status for the purposes of enjoying any of the benefits due to him or her under the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, the Protocol for the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market, and any other relevant written law.

    Section 29 - Non-refoulement

    No person shall be refused entry into Kenya, expelled, extradited from Kenya or returned to any other country or be subjected to any similar measure if, as a result of such refusal, expulsion, return or other measure, such person is compelled to return to or remain in a country where— (a) the person may be subject to persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; or (b) the person's life, physical integrity or liberty would be threatened on account of external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in part or whole of that country. (2) The benefit of subsection 1 may not, however, be claimed by a refugee or asylum seeker whom there are reasonable grounds for him or her being regarded as a danger to the national security of Kenya.

    Section 12 - Application for Recognition of Refugee Status:

    (1) A person who has entered Kenya and wishes to remain within Kenya as a refugee within the meaning of section 11 shall make an application for refugee status to the Commissioner within thirty days of entry into Kenya. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Commissioner may accept an application after the expiry of the period stipulated in subsection (1) if the applicant demonstrates sufficient cause for the delay. (3) An applicant under subsection (1) shall be permitted to remain in Kenya pending the determination of their application. (4) The Commissioner shall, upon receipt of an application under subsection (1), ensure that the applicant is informed of their rights and obligations under this Act in a language the applicant understands.

    The Constitution of Kenya

    Legal provision

    Article 2(6) - Supremacy of this Constitution

    Any treaty or convention ratified by Kenya shall form part of the law of Kenya under this Constitution.