Gov’t to reduce passport processing period to three days from September
The government has said that passport applications will, from September 1, 2024, take three days to be processed.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said that effective May 1, 2024, all applications for the Kenyan passport will be processed within 21 days from the date of application.
According to the CS, the 21 days period will be reduced to 7 days from August 1, 2024 and 3 days from September 1, 2024.
“The Government reiterates its commitment to ensure that effective May 1, 2024, all applications for the Kenyan passport will be processed within 21 days from the date of application. This period will reduce to 7 days from August 1, 2024, and 3 days from 1st September 2024,” the CS said.
The CS was speaking when he inspected the new passport printing equipment at Nyayo House on Monday.
He added that the historical backlog in the processing of the Kenyan passport has been conclusively resolved and the bottlenecks that had resulted in the frustration of many applicants addressed.
“The Government has facilitated the acquisition of adequate passport printing equipment, paid all the pending supplier bills, and addressed the supply chain constraints,” said CS Kindiki.
“The backlog of pending passports that stood at 724,000 by March 11, 2024, has been resolved, and the 50,000 applications that were pending on Thursday, last week have been produced and are ready for delivery.”
Last month, the government said that it has allocated Sh3.2 billion towards addressing the delays witnessed in the processing of passports.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the hitches would be sorted out within the next three months.
CS Kindiki on February had pledged the government’s commitment to settle dues owed to suppliers as he sought to coordinate efforts to address delays following public outcry over delays.
“Many years of low investment in passport production infrastructure, piling supplier debts and graft practices continue to undermine the programme initiated to transform the state department of immigration and citizen services last year,” said then.