To carry out business in Kenya, a foreign company has to be registered under the Kenyan Companies Act. Failure to register the foreign company in Kenya will lead to a fine of Kshs. Five Million Shillings.

Procedure for the registration of a branch of a foreign company in Kenya:

Under Section 975 of the Companies Act, 2015, the following are the requirements for the registration of a foreign company (branch);

1. certified copy of a current certificate of the foreign company’s
   incorporation or registration in its place of origin, or a document of
   similar effect;
2. a certified copy of its constitution;
3. a list containing the names of its directors and shareholders and their
   personal details;
4. if that list includes directors who—
   (i) reside in Kenya; and
   (ii) are members of a local board of directors a memorandum that
   is duly executed by or on behalf of the foreign company and
   states the powers of those directors; and
5. notice of the address of—
   (i) if it has in its place of origin a registered office for the purposes
   of the law there in force—that office; or
   (ii) otherwise — its principal place of business in its place of origin;
   and
6. notice of the address of its registered office under section 983. A foreign company in Kenya is required to maintain a registered office where all communications may be sent.

Registrar issues a Certificate of Compliance signifying the registration of the Foreign Company is complete.

Time scale: It takes approximately 4 weeks to secure the Certificate of registration or in this regard “a Certificate of Compliance”

We can assist you to register a bran.ch of your foreign company in Kenya, please contact us at info@capitaregistrars.co.ke or swanjiru@capitaregistrars.co.ke