Kenya or Tanzania
Two countries side by side across the same rows as the full comparison. A dash means the value is missing: fields are not filled with guesses. about the data
| Kenya | Tanzania | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 7 years | 8 years |
| Partner can work | no | no |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | no | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 520 · estimate | $ 729 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 26,0 | $ 23,0 |
| Life expectancy | 63.83 | 67.21 |
| Homicides/100k | 4.65 | 3.3 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Kenya — 24, Tanzania — 28. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment and retirement. Kenya adds: remote work and repatriation. Tanzania adds: talent.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Kenya: fees range from 1,000 to 750,000 KES. Routes with no fee: 2. Routes stating an income threshold: 2; the lowest is 24,000 USD a year. Routes with a published decision deadline: 22; the shortest is 1 days. Tanzania: fees range from 100 to 3,000 USD. Routes with no fee: 2. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 100,000 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 24; the shortest is 5 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Kenya after 7 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Kenya after 7 years, Tanzania after 8 years. Kenya allows a second citizenship, Tanzania does not.
Kenya in brief
Kenya admits foreign specialists through a system of ten classes of work permits (Class A-M), each for a different purpose — from mineral prospecting and agriculture to prescribed professions and religious activity — and, since 2024, through a separate digital nomad visa (Class N) requiring a confirmed minimum income of $55,000 a year from sources outside the country. Permanent residence on the general ground — holding a work permit — is reached after 7 years, the last 3 of which must be continuous residence in the country; the spouse of a Kenyan citizen becomes eligible for permanent residence sooner, after 3 years of marriage, but until then the accompanying spouse holds a Dependant's Pass, which does not carry the right to work. Naturalisation takes the same 7 years — by marriage or by permanent residence with knowledge of Swahili or a local language; former citizens by birth who lost their citizenship on acquiring a foreign one have a separate, faster route to restoration. The 2010 Constitution permits dual citizenship for citizens by birth. Nairobi is the region's largest technology hub: since 2007 it has hosted the African headquarters of Google, IBM, Cisco Systems, and General Electric.
Tanzania in brief
Tanzania splits the right to reside in the country and the right to work between two authorities: the Immigration Service issues residence permits in three classes (A — investors and the self-employed, B — employees under a specific job offer, C — other grounds) under the Immigration Act, 1995, while the Labour Commissioner under the ministry responsible for employment issues a separate work permit in one of five classes (A–E, for investors, holders of in-demand professions, other professions, religious/charitable activity, and refugees) under the Non-Citizens (Employment Regulation) Act, 2015; legal paid employment requires both documents at once. Residence permits are capped by default at five years total (three years plus a renewal of up to two), and no separate permanent-residence status has been established between this term and citizenship — the only exception found covers a narrow category of major investors after 10 years of residence. Naturalisation requires practically 8 years of residence (the year immediately before filing plus at least 7 of the preceding 10 years), knowledge of Swahili or English, and renunciation of prior citizenship: dual citizenship is not permitted by law. Zanzibar is an autonomous part of the Union Republic: the law explicitly provides for additional entry and residence rules there, set with the consent of the President of Zanzibar, separate from the mainland's. The guide's five cities reflect both the largest population centres (Dar es Salaam — the country's commercial and technology centre, Mwanza — the second-largest city on Lake Victoria), the official capital, Dodoma, and two key inbound tourism destinations — Arusha (the gateway to the Serengeti and Kilimanjaro) and Zanzibar City with Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Other comparisons
Kenya or… Nigeria · Rwanda · Tunisia · Algeria · South Africa · Angola · Gabon · Madagascar
Tanzania or… Sierra Leone · Uganda · Zambia · Eswatini · Lesotho · Mozambique · Republic of the Congo · Burundi
More on each: Kenya · Tanzania. Build your own comparison — up to four countries
This material is for reference and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax thresholds and prices change. Before deciding anything, check the official sources and consult a licensed professional in the relevant country.