Kenya and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Legalisation
- First stop
- Legalisation by the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, done digitally through the eCitizen website
- Language
- English, accepted as it is
- Register
- Business Registration Service (BRS), via eCitizen
- Tax treaty
- Kenya and the Netherlands signed a tax treaty in 2015. It awaits entry into force; until then Dutch domestic rules apply: 15% Dutch dividend withholding tax, zero standard withholding on interest and royalties (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- Economic Partnership Agreement, 1 July 2024
- Moving here
- Residence permit needed
- Notary checks
- Enhanced, with a source-of-funds note (EU high-risk list, Delegated Regulation 2016/1675)
Documents from Kenya
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Kenya.
Proof of address in Kenya, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before a Kenyan notary public (an advocate appointed as notary). The ministry legalises the notary’s signature online.
Ownership statement, one page from us.
Legalisation. Legalisation by the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, done digitally through the eCitizen website: you receive a PDF with a QR code, and the Netherlands asks for this stamp only.
Good to know. The digital legalisation is a PDF with a QR code, in place of a sticker: send the file itself. Swahili documents need a sworn translation. Kenya is on the EU high-risk list, so the notary checks the source of the money.
If a company from Kenya becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Business Registration Service (BRS), via eCitizen. Order an official search (CR12) showing directors and shareholders, and the certificate of incorporation. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Trade between Kenya and the EU
Trade in goods between the EU and Kenya came to €3.1 billion in 2025: €1.5 billion of EU imports and €1.6 billion of EU exports. The EU was the largest market for Kenyan exports in 2025, with 13.6% of the total.
Vegetable products made up 72.6% of EU imports from Kenya in 2025. Machinery and appliances led EU exports to Kenya at 24.5%, followed by chemical products at 20.9% and mineral products at 15.9%.
The EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, signed in Nairobi on 18 December 2023, entered into force on 1 July 2024. The Commission calls it the most ambitious trade deal the EU has signed with a developing country in terms of sustainability provisions.
Under Global Gateway, the EU launched a Digital Economy Package for Kenya on 5 October 2023, with expected Team Europe contributions of €430 million. The EU allocated €324 million in grants to the partnership for 2021 to 2024.
Import duties: Access2Markets.
Your next step from Kenya
Get free first advice Your own document list · How a Dutch BV is set up