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Swiss National Unable to Get Permanent Residency despite being Married to Kenyan Woman

Swiss National Unable to Get Permanent Residency despite being Married to Kenyan Woman

A Swiss national has expressed frustration after Kenyan immigration officials have hindered his efforts to live permanently in the country despite being legally married to a Kenyan woman.

Mark Baur, who has a four-year-old daughter with his Kenyan wife Lillian, says his bid to acquire permanent residency has been unsuccessful in the last few years.

Baur accuses immigration officers based at Nyayo House in Nairobi of frustrating his efforts to acquire residency by demanding a bribe of Sh500, 000. He has been forced to use a tourist Visa throughout the years.

“I have about eight tourist visas in my passport from the past two years. Every three months I have to renew it,” Baur tells the Daily Nation.

He parts with Sh5,000 every time he applies for a new tourist Visa and has been advised to pay Sh100,000 every year for three years in order to be issued with a Class K permit that allows him to live in the country.

Class K permit is given to immigrants who are unemployed but have an annual income of over $24000, which can be beneficial to the country. After the three years, he's told he can apply for permanent residency and the process could take up to two years.

“After those two years, it is not guaranteed that I would be granted the residency. It is very frustrating! The Kenyan government is basically trying to extort money from me so that I can be with my family,” a frustrated Baur notes.

“I told them that I am the one who supports my family. I do not work, but I have an income from investments I have back in Switzerland."

“If we were applying for residency for my wife in Switzerland, we would get it in two weeks at no cost, because we are married!”

In May, the couple applied for a dependant pass but immigration officials at Nyayo House said his application had been rejected.

“When we got there we were told that they had denied my application. I asked for the documents showing that my request for the pass had been denied but they told me that my file was lost and could not be found,” he says.

Baur cannot apply for citizenship since one is required to have lived in the country continuously for the past seven years.

“I have never heard of any other country denying a family the right to stay together. It is very unfair. We have a home here, but I feel unwanted in this country. If this fails, then we might just have to leave and go to Switzerland.”

 

Comments

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 09:57am

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hi mchumi. thanks for your comment. they didn't exactly ask for a bribe. it works smarter nowaddays. the journalist portrait it a bit unprecise: i said to her it amounts to extorsion if they demand me to pay 100k/year for a K-permit for many many years before i can apply/get a permanent residency (in effect 5 years in all). legal spouses of kenyan citizens should get a residency just like in almost any other country in the world, even more so if they have children, without having to pay fortunes.

Frank (not verified)     Mon, 01/28/2019 @ 05:57am

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Let me tell you, I went through the same. Dont fight the system go around it. In order for you to get a PR you must be married at least 3 years. In ordert o apply for your PR you must provide a Certificate of good conduct, this you can only get if you lived on some sort of permit in the country for at least 6 month (VISAS DO NOT COUNT). The class K permit is a great way to do so, 3 years issuance in my case at 100,000 a year. After 6 month you just apply for the CID clearance and you apply for your PR.
The processing timefor the PR is quite long and I urge you to talkt o an expert about that to make sure you get it within a reasonable time (1-2 years).

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 09:57am

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hi mchumi. thanks for your comment. they didn't exactly ask for a bribe. it works smarter nowaddays. the journalist portrait it a bit unprecise: i said to her it amounts to extorsion if they demand me to pay 100k/year for a K-permit for many many years before i can apply/get a permanent residency (in effect 5 years in all). legal spouses of kenyan citizens should get a residency just like in almost any other country in the world, even more so if they have children, without having to pay fortunes.

Maxiley (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 10:45am

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After these corrupt bureaucracy has been exposed,are we going to see things work as they are supposed to,that is smoothly,without frustrating the applicants?Iam also assuming that mzungu has all his ducks in arrow,and the corrupt officials just want bribes.
Let's give the immigration department"due process" and hear their side.
If it takes only 2 week is switserland to process this kind of documents, I dont see why it should not take same time it Kenya.Everything step should be computerized by now.
I expect this story,and afew unreported ones to send afew "thieves"to the chopping block.

Ruedi (not verified)     Thu, 01/03/2019 @ 04:15pm

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The immigration has threatened all the mzungus who are correctly registered to not show them out in the country in nairobi. After that, the illegal ones were left alone or let go for Kito. This was July to August 2018

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 09:53am

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hi maxiley. the journalist wrote somethin a bit unprecise: i said that it amounts to extorsion if they demand me to pay 100k/year for a K-permit for many many years before i can apply/get a permanent residency. legal spouses of kenyan citizens should get a residency just like in almost any other country in the world. even more so if they have children.

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 09:54am

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hi maxiley. the journalist wrote somethin a bit unprecise: i said that it amounts to extorsion if they demand me to pay 100k/year for a K-permit for many many years before i can apply/get a permanent residency. legal spouses of kenyan citizens should get a residency just like in almost any other country in the world. even more so if they have children.

Maxiley (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 05:16pm

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Thanks for the correction. I hope that the journalist will take not. Is it true that it takes only two weeks in switserland to process the same documents you are processing in Kenya? It appears that some here have deferring view.could you please elucidate. Thanks.

mark baur (not verified)     Thu, 01/10/2019 @ 02:16am

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yes. in the year 2007 it took about 14 days until my wife got the rsidence & work permit and it costed 90.- CHF for 2 yers as far as i remember. anything else stated here is fantasy. what you have to do though, is register the marriage in switzerland properly and the marriage must be real and not fake. they will look into that and that is good. you cannot get just married here in kenya and them move to switzerland. of course not. the marriage must be registered in switzerland or through the embassy and this of course will take some time.

JW (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 12:11pm

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Getting residency in Switzerland is equally as hard so why do we need to cave in to the mzungu when we definitely will not be treated the same when applying for citizenship in Switzerland. It should be an equally reciprocal agreement

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 09:48am

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you are talking about things you have no idea of. if you are legally married to a swiss citizen, you can move with your spouse there and you will get a B-permit in no time (couple of weeks) for a token (last time i heard it was 90.- CHF, ca. 9000 bob). that is of course if you don't have a fake marriage. btw: the same applies in most countries on this planet. reason: because familes enjoy special protection under the declaration of human rights.

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 10:08am

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you are talking about things you have no idea of. if you are legally married to a swiss citizen, you can move there with your spouse and you will get a B-permit in no time (couple of weeks) for a token (last time i heard it was 90.- CHF, ca. 9000 bob for TWO years). that is of course if you don't have a fake marriage. btw: the same applies in most countries on this planet. reason: because familes enjoy special protection under the declaration of human rights. regardless of skin colors. got it?

Mugikuyu (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 01:18pm

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Welcome to our Kenya. That is how life is and I am sure your wife has been telling you the same. If you can withstand all the hurdles then you will have become a true Kenyan.

Dr. Koni Hanene (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 01:20pm

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Kenyan immigration department should give this man permanent residency with immediate effect. In the history of this department services no Nigerian has ever been denied a visa or permanent residency application despite the fact that Nigerians only travels or settles in Kenya to commit crimes

jaguasi (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 01:22pm

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This is completely unacceptable. Government agencies need to stop frustrating people who are just trying to abide by the existing laws. Please don't pay the bribe and continue to expose their corrupt behavior! Don't give in and don't let them take advantage of you.

Kenya (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 01:50pm

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Somebody thought they will make a kill out of this. Lo, wamekula ngumu. You could have taken their pictures and put them on social media so that when people go there they will be familiar with their faces.

Visitor (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 02:50pm

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The best option is the pendant pass which is renewable every 2 years . He should not try to take Matiangi to court . He will destroy his chances right or wrong. If he never went for interview this is wrong. The interview is for finding out if the marriage is genuine or for convenience i don't think this one is for convenience

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 10:12am

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i can't get a dependants pass because I AM A MAN. it's totally gender discriminatory. if i'd be a woman, i'd get it. or if i would be a 80 year old half paralized geriatric or poor as a church mouse (the officer in charge said something of that tune). i would have to swear that i can't look after myself....

Michael (not verified)     Fri, 03/08/2019 @ 06:17pm

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I'm also Liberian national with similar issues. Can't male spouse married to Kenya legally by law acquire the dependent pass to live in the country until after the 3yrs to apply for permanent residency status .

This is completely embarrassing because people with family including myself should not be separated from my family and this is against the law .Having a marriage certificate and family and going through tough times is bad . Your story is similar to mine ,I'm taking care of my wife and my daughter from investment I have back in my home country that always send me funds. I'm still trying on the dependent pass since my marriage is less than 3yrs , if it fails I will leave with my family

Kiihu (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 02:57pm

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Well, you only see the mzungu case, the other day was your digital passport bing offered at $45 in Nairobi and 70 in the US(DC) little you know overall getting it in DC is cheaper in the long run. If you decide to get it in Kenya, they will hold it for so long just to frustrate you to give 5000ksh for process to speed up hence you end up paying ksh 10,000 plus for the same. So do the math, in Kenya nothing is free unless the drunkards highrises and the mpangos, prados are catered for. Most people live beyond their means hence funds have to come from somewhere. And that's what they boast as Hardwork.

Imara Daima (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 05:02pm

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Katiba yetu mpya inamruhusu huyu Ndugu yetu kutoka Switzerland kuishi Kenya na kupewa anachotaka mara moja.

Ningependa kujua, Je, Ndugu Ruto na Uhuru, kuna watu wengi katika nchi ya Kenya ambao wanaweza kufanya kazi nzuri katika idara hii mara moja bila kutarajia kupokea hongo/rushwa. Kwa nini wapokeaji rushwa/hongo wangali kazini? Vijana wengi waliohitimu masomo yao kutoka kwenye chuo kikuu yafaa waajiriwe na wapenda hongo watimuliwe kutoka kazini mara moja.

Nawaombeni mchukue msimamo mpya (2019) ambao unasema, mtu yeyote anayetaka huduma yoyote kutoka kwenye Idara hii, baada ya kutuma maombi, ni lazima isichukue zaidi ya mwezi mmoja bila kupata alichoomba.

" HARAKA HARAKA ( )INA BARAKA."

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 11:18pm

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thank you. i, we, feel the same. mzungu is the street word for whity. its roots are probably in kizunguzungu, nobody could ever tell me the exact origin though. but it's clearly used for whity. if everybody in europe would call africans blacky or nyeusi, they would go to court and be sentenced for racist comments. and there would be an uproar in africa and social media. here, we just have to endure it. i endure it since 23 years in east africa (16 of which in kenya).

formerlyguest2 (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 05:50pm

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So? Just because he is a mzungu he should get it express but when you reverse the script getting one is Switzerland is equally tough, so why is this news? Do we report when Ugandans , Tanzanians or other black people have it tough?

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 11:22pm

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you don't understand in the least the issue at hand. if you are legally married to a swiss citizen, you can move there with your spouse and you will get a B-permit (work&residence) in no time (couple of weeks) for a token (last time i heard it was 90.- CHF, ca. 9000 bob for TWO years). that is of course if you don't have a fake marriage and the marriage is legally registered there (ours is here in kenya). btw: the same applies in almost all countries on this planet. reason: because familes enjoy special protection under the declaration of human rights which kenya signed. regardless of skin colors or nationalities. got it?

mkenya halisi (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 06:58pm

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Hehehehe mzungu mzungu please In kenya we have the law on immigration just the way u have it in switzerland?Just b patient n after seven years u will get the papers if u stay in kenya for that long continuously.But hii manenos of bribing is out of order n we don't support it??Kenya is one of the best countries to reside if u have something compared to majuuu never ending frustrations n modern working slaverly.Please kenyans diasporas have corrupted bribed akatas n wazungu for illegal marriages in usa states in big numbers n they dare talk about corruption in immigration offices yet this is the same nonsense they r doing most of them behind the doors especially in usa/uk/.Marriages za uwongo is impunity n corruption but we only see the kenya corruption.If we talk about corruption to end it has to end with us everywhere a

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 11:28pm

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oh yea, kweli kabisa! kenya is wonderful, that is why my wife does not want to ove to europe and neither do i! i am here since 16 years btw, with the exception of 2 years in 2008/09. and i never talked of bribery. i talk about the declaration of human rights which basically gives a family the right to live together and be protected without being demanded to pay horrendous sums to do that. kenya signed it. it's the right of the kenyan state to ask a million dollar for a work permit, it has the right to ask 1 mio KES for a k-permit, i don't question that. it does NOT have the right to deny the legal spouse and father of its citizens a residence permit or ask that much for it. i hope you see the point.

Imara Daima (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 07:18pm

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Hawa Ndugu zetu kutoka Yuropa hawapendi kuitwa "wazungu." Ni heri ujue mahali anapotoka halafu umtambulishe na asili yake.

Badala ya kumwita ndugu/dada yetu "mzungu," kwanza, fanya utafiti halafu ujue nchi anayotoka halafu umwite Mfaransa, Mtaliani, Mjerumani, Mreno (Portuguese), Mdachi, Mtaliani, Myunani/Mgiriki (Greek), Mspania (Spanish), Mrusi, Mturuki, Mbeljiji (Belgian) au Mwingereza, Mmarekani wa asili ya Yuropa au Mmarekani wa asili ya Korea, n.k.

Hata sisi tunaotoka Bara la Afrika, ni lazima tujiite jina jingine jipya kwa sababu neno "Afrika" lilitokana na watu kutoka Yuropa. Kwa hiyo, hakuna dhambi/makosa kusema, "Mimi ni Mmasai/Mkenya au Mmasai/Mtanzania.

One2ManyDayz (not verified)     Wed, 01/02/2019 @ 10:25pm

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Even without bribes in question, our people in most govt offices do doublespeak. Their work flow and ethics are all jumbled up. When you come across as astute, forthright or discreet the folks will instantly put you on a treadmill or rat maze. Woe onto you if you if they suspect you to be rich, diasporic or foreigner. You will be in for a high jump! they bring forth all sorts of archaic rules that no one knows about, softening you with scare "blows" of how hard you case is, it requires time( often more than a month many in diaspora can afford in to be KE). It is a curse to always want to harvest where you did not sow. Cut the long story, just give this in-law his papers jameni!

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 11:37pm

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are you right or what! thank you for your brilliant comment. but time is no issue - i have been living here in kenya since 16 years, we have a house and home here, i had k-permits for over 10 years (which by the way is a great immigration instrument) but now the case is different (see my other comments, family protection, human rights etc). and we certainly don't speak of month'. we speak of YEARS!!! an application of mine for permanent residency has been going on for 2 years (!!!) and then they told me one of the referees i gave doesn't know me.... HAHAHA. how stupid would i have to be to do that. i am fighting for my legal status here now since over 2 years, not as a expat, but as a family father who wants to live with his kenyan daughter and wife.

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 11:05pm

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hi jane. the answer is: TRUE LOVE. that might lead to true marriage. a true marriage is a family and families are protected under the declaration of human rights. so and your husband then can choose tolive in switzerland or kenya. if you move to switzerland you will be given a residence and work permit (if it's not a fake marriage of convenience) because switzerland respects the family. if you and your hubby decide to live in kenya - well, look at my ordeal. because kenya does not respect tha family.

Mgeni (not verified)     Thu, 01/03/2019 @ 04:54am

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You've all lost the point here. These immigration laws are simply sexist. A foreigner married to a Kenyan man will have an easier path to permanent residence in Kenya than a Kenyan woman. This debate was rife a while back and has never stopped since then. So Kenya ni taifa la baba sio la mama. This is exactly what happens when people vote along tribal lines rather than policies. Naongea na Jubilee. You literally gave this country to the dogs halafu mko msitari wa mbele kucomplain, hata hamna aibu! Vuneni matunda yenu pole pole. Nkt

mark baur (not verified)     Sat, 01/05/2019 @ 11:31pm

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thank you for pointing out the real issue here, most don't. but besides the gender discrimination of the historic relict of the past called dependant pass (might be even colonial), it also deals with the protection of the family under the declaration of human rights. you can't ask exorbitant fees from legal spouses and fathers to live with them.

Ruedi (not verified)     Thu, 01/03/2019 @ 07:00am

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Funny, I know Germans who have dependent or even Kenya ID. I pay my expensive K permit every 3 years and have been in Kenya for 15 years.

Imara Daima (not verified)     Thu, 01/03/2019 @ 02:32pm

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@Guest1: Mtu siyo rangi! Mambo ya kuwaita watu kutokana na rangi na maumbile yao yalianzishwa siku za utumwa.

Mimi sioni makosa yoyote kumwita mtu kutokana na lugha yake ya asili. Kwa mfano: Mmasai Mkenya au Mmasai Mtanzania. Ni lazima tujue na pia tutambue ya kwamba kuna watu wanaoitwa "Wamasai." Usione haya kujiita Mmasai!

Maxiley (not verified)     Sun, 01/06/2019 @ 11:59pm

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@ Mark Baur , I had no idea that white people recent being called Mzungu. Iam not a bigwa wa lugha,but since my infancy, I have never taken it as a negative word.In fact, the word is affectionately used in my western kenya village without prejudice.The villagers even call a new born baby mzungu due to the light complexion most babies have.

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