Kenyans have been invited to submit a memorandum on The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 53 of 2025).
The bill seeks to amend the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, Cap. 170 to remove the time limit that governs applications for citizenship by stateless persons and migrants.
The Act currently only allows a stateless person who has habitually resided in Kenya since December 12, 1963, and has an enforceable claim to citizenship of any recognized State to apply for citizenship.
Kilifi North lawmaker Owen Baya, the sponsor of the Bill, is seeking to amend the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, Cap 170, to clearly define the conditions under which stateless persons can be registered as Kenyan citizens.
Statelessness occurs when a person is not considered a citizen by any country under its laws.
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Kenya Moves to Grant Citizenship to Long-Term Stateless Residents
Under current laws, stateless people who have lived in Kenya continuously since Kenya’s independence on December 12, 1963, can apply for citizenship. However, they must meet several conditions.
Applicants must intend to live permanently in Kenya, speak Kiswahili or a local dialect, and apply within seven years.
Stateless persons currently have no formal registration system, and the process is considered strict and limiting.
Under the proposed changes, a person who has no enforceable claim to the citizenship of any recognized state and has lived in Kenya continuously since 12th December 1963 may now be eligible to apply for Kenyan citizenship.
The bill removes the requirement for applicants to declare that they will permanently stay in Kenya after getting citizenship.
It also expands the language requirement. To qualify, applicants must demonstrate the ability to communicate in Kiswahili or in a local dialect, or through technologies accessible to persons with disabilities.
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Another key change is the removal of the strict application deadline. Current law requires stateless persons to apply for citizenship within 7 years of the law taking effect, although the government may extend this period by 3 years through a Gazette notice.
The new bill would eliminate this time limit. It also removes similar deadlines that affected migrants who voluntarily moved to Kenya before independence.
Meanwhile, the applicant must also have a clean criminal record, free of convictions carrying a sentence of three years or more during their stay in Kenya, and understand the rights and responsibilities of Kenyan citizens.
The amendment also mandates that the Cabinet Secretary maintain a register of registered stateless persons living in Kenya.
The move is expected to create an official record of people who are not recognised as citizens by any country.
