Moving to nairobi

Hi Bahali,

Welcome to Expat.com!

As you were off topic on the previous thread, i have created a new discussion on the Nairobi forum.

Thank you,
Christine
Expat.com team

Thanks for the invite.

I wasn't off topic the way you put it!( I doubt anything can be off topic)

As it is now i find that the post is floating without wings,head and a tail etc.Hope  though that mamaKibuyu or anyone else with related experiences as per the qns posed would find this thread and respond to some of my qns

Hi agbahali,

Please note that this thread has been created by Christine for you to receive more specific and appropriate answers concerning your case.

Indeed, as this thread is now easier to find on the forum, the other members experiencing the same situation like you will be able to advise you in a better way.

I am sure that this new thread will really help you.

Thank you,

Priscilla
Expat.com team

I have no idea about tax exemptions, first of all. We didn't ship anything - just brought our full luggage allowance on the plane and bought furniture and appliances when we arrived.

We decided that my husband would figure out how to navigate the dependent's pass on his own. I entered the country on a 90-day holiday visa, then we applied for the dependent's pass. I don't have a work permit. It was such a confusing process, and even immigration officers couldn't tell us what we were supposed to do.

Once you are in Kenya, go to an immigration office and get the application form for a dependent pass. The fee should be only Ksh1000. Doing it in person is so much more efficient, though they will say you can do it by mail. You will get a receipt that the application is in process. You will need to get it endorsed in her passport as well. Then she can apply for a foreign national ID card. There is also a reentry permit that she will apply for any time she is going to leave the country. I haven't done that part yet, though.

Thanks alot for higlighting those steps that will get her legally remain in the country.
We once tried in 2009 at the Immigration offices in Nairobi to get a dependants pass by initially using the 90 day visa.It was not processed on time despite initially being told by the immigration people that it was to be ready within a month.It was annoying how in three months time a file that had her documents didn't manage to get delivered from ground floor(where you submit appplication) to the 5th floor where processing is expected to begin.We spend innumerable number of times showing up at this office to no avail.Because she had to leave the coutry anyway we gave up the wait.One problem that i was to understand  is that the application procedure is not registered in the system as they do for passport so you cannot follow up online on the progress of your application.Without this system log it is hard to trace where the file is and what issue it might be keeping it unprocessed.Having gotten you approach now i think it makes sense to just submit the appliction for the pass and see how that will turn out.I hope that despite the set backs in settling in kenya, you have found the move there enjoyable and /or rewarding??

I'm kind of laughing about your experience because it was so similar to ours! They told us my application never arrived when we mailed it, but they had opened a file for it before we called to check on the status. They must have had it at one point and lost it. We mailed a second one, but the cashier's check for the application fee was tucked away in a secret place in the mail room until my husband went in person and demanded to know what exactly the problem was. And still, once it was processed, they told us I didn't need an endorsement in my passport and there was nothing like a reentry permit. We found out about those things the hard way when I left the country without them. But anyway...It's fine now. Iko sawa.

I do enjoy living here. Hope my experience helps you cut through the bureaucracy a little more easily.

the experience that people go through to get official documents in this country is ridiculous.
My 2 qns are answered.Sorry might bother you with additional qns coming:Did you identify a reliable( and equally cheap) life insurance provider to take a medical/health cover with?I do know the NHIF has a scheme but might be limited in the amounts that they may pay for if one is hospitalised.We think that hospital prices are pricey.
thanks for the information you continue to give

We don't have insurance. We priced some options but it seemed to us that it would be more expensive to have insurance than to pay our medical expenses on our own.