Refused a Canadian visa in Kenya?

IRCC now sends the officer's decision note with most refusals: temporary-resident applications refused since 29 July 2025 (visitor visas, super and transit visas, visitor records, study and work permits and their extensions) and permanent-residence applications refused since 26 May 2026. It does not send them for eTAs, temporary resident permits or humanitarian and compassionate applications.

As of 24 September 2026, Kenyan citizens need a visitor visa (also called a temporary resident visa, or TRV) to come to Canada. IRCC's list says you "need a valid visitor visa and a valid passport to visit or transit through Canada". Transit means passing through Canada on the way somewhere else, such as changing planes. IRCC's transit visa page says that if you only change planes in Canada and stay 48 hours or less, you can get a transit visa instead, and it is free. IRCC also lists some exceptions, such as US permanent residents (green card holders), who need neither a visa nor an eTA. Kenya is not on IRCC's list of countries that can use an eTA (an online travel permit) instead of a visa.

IRCC lists only one visa application centre (VAC) in Kenya, in Nairobi. If you give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) in Kenya, this is the only place IRCC lists for it, and you need an appointment. For the address and opening hours, open IRCC's list (link below) and tap "Kenya VAC" next to Nairobi.

Applications to visit, study or work in Canada for a while (IRCC calls these temporary-resident applications) listed under Kenya, and how many were not approved (refused or withdrawn). These cover visitor visas, visitor records (extra time as a visitor), study permits, work permits and their extensions.

• January to July 2026: IRCC finished 18,800 applications and approved 8,085. Not approved: 10,715, about 57%. Worldwide it was about 33%.
• 2025: IRCC finished 25,645 and approved 11,505. Not approved: 14,140, about 55%. Worldwide: about 40%.
• 2024: IRCC finished 54,050 and approved 11,425. Not approved: 42,625, about 79%. Worldwide: about 43%.
• Visitor visas approved for people listed under Kenya (visas for tourists and for visiting family or friends, not those for students or workers): 11,330 in 2023, 3,160 in 2024, 2,590 in 2025 and 1,795 in January to July 2026.

On 22 September 2026, IRCC's processing times for people applying from Kenya were: visitor visa, 60 days; study permit, 6 weeks; work permit, 5 weeks (all applied for from outside Canada). IRCC says the time includes giving your biometrics. IRCC changes these times often, so check again before you apply.

In papers for a House of Commons committee hearing in March 2022, IRCC gave study-permit results by the country applicants lived in (extensions not counted). For Kenya: in 2019, 675 approved and 1,641 refused (29% approved); in 2020, 353 approved and 823 refused (30%); in 2021, 762 approved and 1,619 refused (32%). IRCC worked out the rate as approved divided by approved plus refused. These figures are old, and we found no newer IRCC figure like this for Kenya.

Canada's page for Nairobi says the High Commission "is unable to provide information regarding immigration, permanent residency or visas". It sends people to a visa application centre for biometrics. For questions, it says to "Submit an enquiry using the IRCC web form to contact a visa office."

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Our office hours are Mon–Sat, 10am–7pm IST. In Kenya that is 7:30am–4:30pm. Send a WhatsApp message any time and we reply in office hours.

We file within 24 hours of receiving your payment, documents and signed consent form (1 hour on Premium, during office hours). For a file without its application number there is no set hour, because it can need extra steps first. The law gives IRCC 30 days from receiving a request to reply, and lets it extend that by sending a notice.