The context
English is an official language and the administration is comparatively well documented. Most couples hold a ruracio — the traditional negotiation and ceremony — and a separate church or civil wedding, each with its own guests and budget.
Entering the country
An electronic travel authorisation is required in advance for most nationalities; apply through the official portal only. Yellow fever certificates may be required depending on where you are travelling from.
Marrying, and having it recognised
The Marriage Act brought civil, Christian, Hindu, Islamic and customary marriages under one statute, each producing a registrable certificate. Notice is given with a waiting period before a civil ceremony, and a foreign partner supplies a letter of no impediment. See civil marriage in Kenya.
Getting there
Nairobi is a regional hub with direct flights from Europe, the Gulf and across Africa. The long rains fall around March to May.
Customs and family
Bride price is not a purchase. It acknowledges a bond between two families; leaving it out says the bond does not exist, and treating it as a transaction wounds just as much. Ask in advance, through someone close to the family, what is expected and who hands it over. See wedding customs.
Points to watch
- Register whichever ceremony you hold: the certificate is what travels.
- Same-sex relationships are criminalised — see the page.
- Harambee contributions — collective fundraising for the wedding — are a social expectation worth understanding before it surprises you.
Two absolute prohibitions, wherever you live
Sex tourism and any relationship with a minor are punished here as everywhere, and your own country's law follows you abroad. For sexual offences against a child, almost every state sets aside dual criminality and dispenses with any complaint: you can be prosecuted and tried at home whatever the local law says and whatever the local authorities do. See sexual offences committed abroad.
If you met online
The warning signs are the same everywhere: a very fast escalation, a systematic refusal of video, a request for money for an urgent reason, pressure to leave the platform. The rule holds here as anywhere: you do not send money to someone you have never met face to face. Someone genuine will happily take a video call, meet in a public place and introduce you to their family.
Spotting and reporting a romance scam — Kenya
Kenya: everything on this site
This country appears on 35 other pages of this site, across every section. Here they all are, in one place.
Sexuality
Health
- Assisted reproduction
- Abortion
- Alcohol and tobacco
- Contraception
- HIV and AIDS
- HPV
- Hepatitis B
- Mental health
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Advice
Marriage
- Same-sex marriage
- Divorce
- Marriage
- Matrimonial property and inheritance
- Partnerships and cohabitation
- Religious ceremony
- Wedding customs and ceremonies
Names
Rights
- Adoption
- Copyright
- Data protection
- Fundamental rights
- Identity theft
- Image rights
- Online shopping
- Privacy
- Sexual offences committed abroad
- Speech and online harassment
Official sources and links
- Your own foreign ministry's travel advice — read it before each departure: it also conditions your travel insurance. Official portals: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
- Your consular post there, or the one covering the country — civil status, marriage, emergencies; note the number before you go. Official directories: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
- World Health Organization — health recommendations by destination
- Hague Conference on Private International Law — celebration and recognition of the validity of marriages