Business travel covers meetings, conferences, trade fairs, supplier visits, training and contract negotiations - activities where you are not earning money in the destination country. The paperwork is different from a holiday application: the mission wants to see a genuine commercial reason, a real counterparty on the other end, and clarity about who is paying. Deadlines are usually fixed, so this is the category where a missed appointment slot costs the most.
Where to find us
Neehari Global Limited
One Africa Place, Waiyaki Way, Westlands
Nairobi, 00100
Kenya
Our map is at the bottom of every page.
Who this service is for
We handle business visa application for a wide range of travellers, and the right approach differs considerably between them. A salaried employee with a five-year employment history and a self-employed trader with no payslips need entirely different files, even for the same destination on the same dates. If you recognise yourself below, we have done this many times before.
- Directors and managers travelling for meetings or negotiations
- Delegates attending conferences, expos and trade fairs
- Staff travelling for supplier audits, factory visits or installations
- Employees sent abroad for corporate training
- SME owners sourcing stock or equipment overseas
How long it takes
Business applications follow the same published processing standards as tourist applications, but many missions will accept an expedite request supported by a dated invitation. Where a priority tier exists we will tell you whether it is worth paying for.
Those are the mission's own processing standards, and they are only half the picture. In Nairobi the binding constraint is usually appointment availability rather than processing: slots at the visa application centres are released in batches, taken within minutes, and at their tightest around the December and August peaks. Build your plan around the date you can actually be seen, not around the published turnaround. We will tell you what is realistically available before you commit to a flight.
How we handle your application
- Free consultation. We establish the correct visa category, the right mission and a realistic date. Getting this wrong at the start costs more than anything else.
- Tailored checklist. You get a document list built for your circumstances, not a generic printout.
- Document review. We check every item for consistency before anything is submitted. See our visa document review service.
- Form completion. We complete the application and send it to you to verify line by line before submission.
- Appointment. We secure the earliest workable slot at the relevant centre - see appointment booking.
- Tracking. We monitor the file and respond to any request for further documents during processing.
- Decision and collection. We tell you what the decision means and what happens next, including passport collection.
What the mission is actually deciding
Business applications succeed or fail on whether the commercial reason is credible and verifiable. The mission is not assessing whether your business is impressive; it is checking that the trip described actually exists. That means the host must be a real, findable entity, the event must have a date, and your role must make it obvious why you specifically are the one travelling. A junior employee sent to negotiate a major contract, or a director attending routine technical training, both invite the same question - does this fit? The narrative has to be internally consistent before the documents can support it. Where several colleagues travel together, that consistency extends across the whole group, and applications filed separately with slightly different accounts of the same trip create problems none of them would have had alone.
After the decision
Business decisions usually follow the standard timeline for the category, and the outcome is a visa of the validity and entry count the mission judges appropriate - which is often less than requested. A single-entry visa where you asked for multiple is not a partial refusal; it is a normal outcome for a first business application. Build the travel history, and the validity follows on later applications.
Why applying from Nairobi is different
Most of the guidance you will find online about business visa was written for applicants in Europe or North America, and it quietly assumes things that are not true here. It assumes appointment slots are available within days. It assumes a salaried applicant with a payslip. It assumes a long personal travel history already sitting in the passport. For a great many Kenyan applicants none of those hold, and a file built on that advice will be missing exactly the evidence a consular officer covering this region is looking for.
What actually works from Nairobi is documenting the things that are true about your life rather than mimicking a template: a business rather than an employer, family and property here rather than a long stamp collection, regional travel history rather than European. We build files around that, and we do it for clients across the city - from Westlands to Nairobi CBD and Parklands.
Is this the right category for your trip?
Business categories cover meetings and training only. If you will be paid by an entity in the destination country, that falls outside the visa categories we handle, and we will tell you so rather than filing an application that cannot succeed.
What you pay, and what it covers
There are two separate costs in any visa application and it is worth keeping them apart. The first is the mission's own visa fee, plus any visa centre service charge and optional priority fee. That money goes to them, is set by them, changes periodically, and is not refundable if the application is refused. The second is our consultancy fee, which covers the consultation, the tailored checklist, document review, form completion, appointment booking and tracking of the file through to decision.
We quote both in writing before you commit to anything, and the initial consultation is free. We do not take a percentage of anything, we do not mark up the mission's fees, and we do not charge a success fee - a fee structure that rewards us for a decision we do not control would not be honest. If your case is one where you genuinely do not need us, we will say so.
Business Visa clients across Nairobi
We handle business visa applications for clients right across the city. A large share of this work comes from Westlands, where westlands generates a particular mix of applications: business visas for the professional services firms and tech companies clustered around chiromo and waiyaki way, sche. We also see steady demand from clients in Nairobi CBD, and from Parklands and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Wherever you are in Nairobi, most of the process runs over email and WhatsApp - you only need to attend the visa centre in person for biometrics.
We also serve these areas
Frequently asked questions
Can I work or be paid while on a business visa?
No. Business categories cover meetings, training, conferences and negotiations only. Any paid work in the destination country falls outside the visa categories we handle, and we will tell you so rather than filing an application that cannot succeed.
Does my company need to be registered in Kenya?
If you are travelling as a company representative, yes - the mission will want registration documents and company accounts. Sole traders and consultants can apply with personal documentation instead, and we will structure it accordingly.
Can I add a few holiday days to a business trip?
Usually yes. Declare the extra days on the itinerary rather than hiding them. An undeclared gap between your meetings and your return flight raises more questions than a stated one.
How quickly can a business visa be arranged?
It depends on appointment availability more than on processing. Where a mission offers priority or super-priority handling we can use it - see our urgent visa assistance.
What if my invitation letter arrives after the appointment?
We can often submit and supply the invitation during processing, but it is not ideal. We will tell you honestly whether to hold the slot or rebook.
Can my employer apply on my behalf?
Your employer can provide documents and pay the fees, but the application is yours and you attend biometrics personally. We work directly with HR teams where a company is handling several staff at once.
What if the trip is cancelled after the visa is issued?
Nothing happens. An unused visa is not held against you, though a pattern of applying and never travelling would eventually be noticed. There is no obligation to use it.
Do I need a business visa for a conference?
Usually yes, though some missions accept conference attendance under the visitor category. It depends on the destination and whether you are presenting or attending, and we confirm it before filing.
Related services
What we commit to
Local SEO copy is cheap and promises are cheaper, so here is what we will actually hold ourselves to. We quote our fee and the mission's separate fees in writing before you pay anything, and the first consultation costs nothing. We do not guarantee approvals, because the decision belongs to a consular officer and no consultant controls it - anyone in Nairobi telling you otherwise is either selling something or planning to blame the embassy later.
We will not produce documents on your behalf, invent employment, or supply an insurance certificate that does not correspond to a real policy. Those are the fastest routes to a deception finding and a multi-year ban, and they end careers as well as trips. If we think your case is straightforward enough to file yourself, we will say so and charge you for the review rather than the full service. And if we think a deadline genuinely cannot be met, you will hear that on the first call rather than the week before you fly.
Ready to start your business visa?
Free initial consultation. We reply on WhatsApp within a few hours on business days.
Get in touch. Start early. It costs nothing to ask. The first consultation is free. Speak to a consultant today. Documents matter more than promises. Our office is in Westlands, Nairobi. Most of the process happens remotely. Bring your passport and recent bank statements. Ask us before you buy a ticket. We quote all fees in writing beforehand. You attend in person only for biometrics. No approval is ever guaranteed, by us or anyone else. Every application is handled by a named consultant. We will tell you honestly what is achievable. We reply on WhatsApp within a few hours on business days.