Foreigners working in Kenya illegally will be kicked out in the next two months, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said.
The government has given the foreigners a 60-day window to register or risk being kicked out.
The crackdown will begin at the expiry of the 60 days.
There are more than 100,000 foreigners working in Kenya. A majority are illegally in the country, Matiang'i told MPs on Friday.
The CS told the National Assembly's Committee on Security that only 34,000 foreigners have genuine work permits.
“It means there are people doing jobs that Kenyans can do and they are coming through the back," Matiang'i said.
Matiang'i directed all foreign workers to be issued with new electronic work permits during the two months.
“After 60 days, George Kinoti [DCI director] will conduct a swoop and remove from our country people who are not desired to be here. We are going to tighten the process of obtaining a work permit,” Matiang'i said.
He spoke during a meeting with the committee at Flamingo Hotel in Mombasa
“We have not beefed up our systems on immigration for a long time," he said.
The CS promised to make the process of acquiring a work permit transparent and "painless."
The issuance of the electronic work permits will be approached from a two-track perspective.
Track A will include those who require automatic entitlement like missionary doctors, diplomats and foreign professors working in the universities.
The remaining lot will have to be vetted before being issued with a work permit.
"The government will not allow foreigners to take up jobs that a Kenyan can do," Matiang'i said.