The President of the Republic of Kenya; Uhuru Kenyatta has issued a directive stating that all Kenyans in diaspora will be given new generation passports in their countries of residence, upon application.
Uhuru Kenyatta, who was on a state visit in Namibia, issued the order to the immigration department and the Foreign Affairs ministry, when he met Kenyans living and working in the southern African nation.
The President, said he saw no reason why Kenyans living outside the country should shoulder such huge financial costs to travel back to Nairobi, to acquire the new passports.
Speaking at the Windhoek Country Club in Namibia, while responding to requests from Kenyans, who raised concerns over the difficulties they go through to acquire the new passports, President Uhuru Kenyatta said; “Form a team that will go from country to country to register Kenyans in the diaspora. No Kenyan should be forced to spend money to travel to Kenya to get passports,”.
The Kenyan President’s directive is a relief to very many Kenyans in the diaspora, especially those who have been forced to take expensive trips back to Nairobi, in order to renew their passports, as well as having to endure long queues at the Immigration Department once there, with some even missing out on opportunities as a result of delays.
In February 2019, the director-general of the department Alex Muteshi said they had put in place, certain mechanisms to enable Kenyans renew and acquire the new generation passports in Berlin, Dubai, Johannesburg, London, Paris, and Washington, in the course of the year.
Below, are more useful information about the Kenyan e-Passport:
Applicants must personally present themselves to the necessary immigration offices for the collection of biometrics (fingerprints, photographs, and signatures).
Those who still possess the current passports, are required to replace them with the ePassports within the next one year.
All new applications will henceforth, be migrated to ePassport.
The acquisition fee for the ePassport will be 4,550 Kenyan Shillings for a 32 page ePassport and 6,050 Kenyan shillings for a 64 page document.
The processing period for an ePassport will be 10 working days.
The ePassport has a chip which will provide travellers with benefits such as use of automated border clearance.
The ePassport will enhance faster clearance at points of entry and exit.
It is highly secure, and will discourage tampering as well as illegal passport reproduction.
The e-passport logo, which appears on the cover, is the international symbol for an electronic or ePassport. It means that the passport has an integrated circuit or chip on which data about the passport and passport holder is stored.
The new ePassport will not bear the same passport number as the current passport. It will have a new number.
If you have a valid visa on your current passport it will still be valid after you acquire the new ePassport.
Any Kenyan abroad, can renew or get a new ePassport via any Kenya embassy. President Kenyatta’s order means more embassies will be able to issues these documents.
