ROSE MUIGAI | IMMIGRATION LAW & GLOBAL MOBILITY
“When the generation that remembers home is gone, what will bring the next generation back?”
IN THIS PUBLICATION
•Why the diaspora’s loyalty to Kenya may not pass to the next generation
• How tax compliance and citizenship costs shape that relationship
• A proposal for flexible compliance, and what should happen next
Why this conversation matters
Across cities and conversations in recent months, Kenyans from different walks of life keep returning to the same subject. Some have lived abroad for decades; others are relatively new arrivals. Wherever they gather, talk finds its way back to Kenya: politics, the economy, families and, inevitably, the investments made or hoped for back home.
Lately, though, something is changing. Beneath the familiar enthusiasm about building back home is a growing frustration. Sometimes it comes almost as a whisper, over dinner or at a networking event: Why should I invest in Kenya with all these hassles?
| KEY TAKEAWAYS • The generation that built in Kenya out of belonging is ageing. Its children may invest only if it makes sense. • Compliance burdens and citizenship costs can quietly erode goodwill. • Fair taxation and flexible compliance can coexist. Kenya should explore a voluntary option for qualifying citizens abroad. |
For years, Kenya has celebrated its diaspora as an important pillar of the economy. Kenyans abroad are encouraged to remit money, purchase property, establish businesses and contribute to national development. Many have responded generously, working extraordinarily hard to finance projects back home while meeting their obligations where they live.
For many, the dream has always been the same: work hard abroad, build something at home and eventually return. But what happens when the generation holding on to that dream is no longer here?
The Generation that built, and the Generation that may never return.
For many first-generation Kenyans abroad, leaving Kenya was never the same as letting go. They remember the neighbourhoods, schools, villages, languages and people. A plot of land is more than an asset. A house is more than bricks and mortar. It represents belonging, identity and the comforting thought that there is somewhere to return to.
Their children have a different relationship with Kenya. Some were born abroad. Others left too young to remember much. Their friendships, education, careers and social networks are established elsewhere. They may enjoy visiting grandparents and proudly identifying as Kenyan. But enjoying a holiday in Kenya and wanting to invest your future there are two very different things.
And the next generation is watching. They see the difficulties encountered purchasing land, managing property, dealing with contractors, navigating public offices or resolving disputes. They hear about money lost and projects delayed. Somewhere along the way, a reasonable question forms: why put money through all that when it can be invested where life is already based? It is not necessarily a rejection of Kenya. It may simply be a rational economic decision.
The Diasporas investment are welcome, are its circumstances understood?
Consider the Kenyan who has spent years saving to construct a few rental units back home. They must manage tenants, repairs, agents, banking arrangements and tax compliance, often from thousands of miles away.
Since 1 July 2026, the Finance Act 2026 has introduced a non-resident rental income tax on income from Kenyan property. Non-resident landlords must register with the Kenya Revenue Authority, file monthly returns and pay by the 20th of the following month. The tax is final, and it does not apply in the same way where a resident agent is already withholding tax on the landlord’s behalf.
Taxation itself is not the problem. Every functioning country needs revenue. The question is whether the system recognises the realities of managing an investment from London, Toronto, Melbourne or elsewhere. Are the procedures straightforward? Are policy changes communicated clearly? Are the rules predictable? When something goes wrong, can it be resolved without boarding a plane to Nairobi?
Each obligation may seem reasonable on its own. Collectively, the burden can be substantial. Kenya cannot continually invite the diaspora to invest while overlooking the conditions that make those investments sustainable. Investors have choices.
When even Citizenship comes at a price
Citizenship is more than an immigration document. For families living across borders, it represents identity, belonging and a legal connection to the country of their heritage.
Under Kenya’s published immigration fee structure, a citizenship-by-registration route concerning children of Kenyan citizens, commonly described as Category C, has carried a stated issuance fee of KSh 750,000, alongside a processing fee. This must not be confused with citizenship by birth under Article 14 of the Constitution: not every child born abroad to a Kenyan parent needs to apply for registration or pay such a fee. The registration route is governed by the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011.
Even with that distinction, the figure invites a serious policy question. If Kenya wishes to strengthen ties with future generations, should an eligible registration route be financially out of reach for some families? Kenya must examine whether its laws and administrative practices encourage belonging or place avoidable barriers in its way.
Are all non- residents the same?
When people are classified as non-resident taxpayers, is everyone being placed in the same basket? A Kenyan citizen living in London may be classified as a non-resident for Kenyan tax purposes, just as a foreign national investing in Kenya may be. Yet their relationship with Kenya and their long-term connection to the country may be fundamentally different.
Both must meet their lawful tax obligations. That is not in dispute. But does equal responsibility for tax necessarily require identical arrangements for filing and payment?
| POLICY PROPOSAL (FOR DISCUSSION) 1. Filing options. A distinct, voluntary arrangement for qualifying citizens abroad, with quarterly, biannual or annual filing and payment instead of monthly returns in every case. 2. Safeguards. The tax remains payable, with measures to protect revenue, prevent abuse and ensure accountability. This is not an exemption. 3. Consultation. Dialogue with those expected to comply, and equivalent flexibility for other non-resident investors facing comparable practical barriers. |
This is a proposal for discussion, not a description of an existing entitlement. The point is simple: fair taxation and flexible compliance can coexist. Kenya cannot celebrate the diaspora as a distinct community when asking it to invest, then overlook its circumstances when deciding how those investments are administered. Sometimes the most useful investment incentive is not a new promise. It is making an existing obligation easier to meet.
The houses built, and the children who may not want them
Across Kenya are houses built with diaspora money. Some are magnificent homes behind impressive gates; others are modest retirement houses built slowly over many years. Many remain largely unoccupied, waiting for their owners to return.
What happens when those owners are gone? Will their children have the time, interest or attachment to maintain them? Or will they sell? And if they sell, will they reinvest in Kenya or transfer the proceeds to the countries where their lives are established?
The first generation may have built houses because they wanted somewhere to return to. Their children may see the same houses as assets to inherit, manage or dispose of. Neither perspective is necessarily wrong. But one is rooted in belonging; the other may be driven by practical considerations.
The Diaspora is changing, are the policies?
The diaspora is often spoken of as though it were one permanent community with identical interests. It is not. There are recent migrants planning to return, long-established families whose lives span two countries, and young people whose connection to Kenya is cultural rather than economic.
Yet much of the engagement continues to revolve around remittances, property exhibitions, investment opportunities and appeals to patriotism. A country cannot build a lasting relationship with future generations simply by reminding them where their parents were born. It must give them reasons to remain connected.
That means predictable laws, transparent investment processes, accessible public institutions, effective protection of property rights and policies that recognise internationally mobile families. It also means listening beyond conference halls, because private conversations are not always the same as those taking place on conference platforms.
The promises made and forgotten
Conferences, investment forums, homecoming events and diaspora engagement programmes are organised, and partnership and opportunity are spoken of passionately. Then the photographs are taken, the speeches end and everyone returns to their offices. But the diaspora returns to the same challenges: the unresolved property dispute, the complicated administrative process, the uncertain investment environment.
It has become easy to rely on the diaspora to contribute, invest, build and answer calls to give back home. How long can that loyalty be assumed? The steady flow of investment and support cannot be taken for granted.
“The next generation may love Kenya, but will not necessarily inherit its parents’ willingness to endure its frustrations.”
Will there still be a Kenyan Diaspora as it is known today?
This may sound far-fetched, but the question must be asked. People of Kenyan heritage will continue living across the world. But will they maintain the same emotional and economic relationship with Kenya as their parents and grandparents?
Will they continue sending money to relatives they barely know? Will they purchase land in places they have never lived? Will they build retirement homes in a country where they have no intention of retiring? Or will Kenya become somewhere to visit, rather than somewhere to build a future?
Today’s remittances should not be mistaken for a guarantee of tomorrow’s engagement. Much of the financial relationship so often celebrated is sustained by people with immediate personal and family obligations to Kenya. Those obligations change across generations. The question is whether Kenya is preparing for that change.
A view from both sides
Working across Kenya and the United Kingdom as an immigration law specialist and global mobility practitioner brings close proximity to both sides of this debate. It makes the aspirations, sacrifices and frustrations of the diaspora easy to appreciate the aspirations, sacrifices and frustrations of the diaspora, while also understanding the complexities of policymaking, regulation and national development.
What emerges is not necessarily ignorance or a lack of goodwill, but a disconnect between two sides of the same coin. One side develops policies and sees the diaspora through the lens of national development. The other lives with the practical consequences, often thousands of miles away. Both have legitimate interests. Yet somewhere between the promises made and the realities experienced, each side seems to be losing sight of the other.
A candid conversation around one table is needed, not to apportion blame but to bridge that gap before it grows wider. Because one day it may be clear that the warning signs were there all along.
“The first generation invested in Kenya because it was home. The next will invest only if it makes sense.”
What should happen next
| FOR GOVERNMENT 1. Consult the diaspora before changing tax and fee rules, and communicate changes clearly. 2. Explore flexible, voluntary compliance options for qualifying citizens abroad. 3. Review whether registration fees help or hinder connection with future generations. | FOR THE DIASPORA 1. Share concrete experiences with agencies and representatives, not only private frustrations. 2. Get professional advice on tax, property and succession before investing. 3. Bring the next generation into decisions about family assets early. |
The diaspora’s loyalty was never guaranteed to be hereditary. Perhaps it is time to stop treating it as though it were. One question remains:
When the generation that remembers home is gone, what will Kenya offer the generation that has never needed to call it home?
Rose Muigai
Solicitor of England & Wales | Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
Immigration Law Specialist & Global Mobility Practitioner.
Author, Immigration Law and Practice in Kenya.
Helford Mobility Group | helfordmobilitygroup.com | London +44 20 3697 7136
Join the conversation. If you are affected by these issues, or want to help shape the answer, get in touch.
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
• Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Article 14 (citizenship by birth).
• Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 (citizenship by registration).
• Kenya Department of Immigration Services, published fee schedule (citizenship registration fees).
• Income Tax Act (Cap. 470) and the Finance Act, 2026 (non-resident rental income tax, in force 1 July 2026).
• Kenya Revenue Authority, guidance on non-resident rental income, September 2026.
• Central Bank of Kenya, diaspora remittances statistics (latest monthly release).
