INTRODUCTION

The world is often described as a global village. In the course of our practice, we have received queries from clients who seek to register local companies in Kenya. Registration of local companies, or foreign subsidiary companies is useful for ease of doing business in Kenya. This is mostly where a foreign entity wishes to do business with the government of Kenya.

The purpose of this short article is to describe the process of registration of a foreign company in Kenya. This will guide investors in what to expect in this regard.

A foreign corporation can opt to register a company in Kenya in two ways as follows:

1. Registration of a local company with no apparent links to the foreign corporation;
2. Registration of a subsidiary company of the foreign corporation

Registration of a local company with no links to the foreign corporation

This registration is done with the names of the nominated directors of the foreign corporation. It is done through the following steps using the e-citizen platform. 

STEP ONE: Reservation of the name.

The first step is the name reservation step. Here the applicant suggests four possible names for the local company. The Business Registration Service will select the first name for registration purposes.

STEP TWO: Biodata Information for Directors and Shareholders

Once the name is reserved, the following biodata information will be required for directors and shareholders:

(i) A copy of the passports including the biodata page.

(ii) Passport photos

(iii)  E-mail addresses

(iv) Postal addresses

(v) Residential addresses (Including street names and Land Reference Numbers)

STEP THREE