Immigration to open on Saturday for passport collection
The Department of Immigration has extended its working hours to allow Kenyans to collect their passports.
In a statement on Thursday, the department said it will remain open on Saturday 11 May 2024 and urged Kenyans who have received notifications to collect their passports.
“To expedite the collection of passports, our Nairobi office will be open from 9am to 1pm on Saturday 11 May 2024. Applicants who applied for passports in Nairobi and have received notifications to collect their passports are encouraged to take advantage of the extended service,” the notice read.
The announcement comes a week after the department announced the resumption of normal passport issuance operations after successfully resolving a period of downtime in its application and collection systems.
The department suspended passport application and collection after experiencing technical problems for three days that affected passport application, receipt and collection services.
By 22 April, the government had implemented several measures to address the backlog created during the downtime. New printers were purchased to speed up passport printing, while outstanding supplier invoices were paid promptly.
According to the department, supply chain issues have been addressed to ensure smooth processing.
“We are pleased to inform all our clients that we have resumed normal operations in the issuance of passports. We thank you for your patience and understanding during the period that we experienced a downtime,” it said.
Last week, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said engineers had been quickly deployed to fix the problems.
The downtime came just weeks after the successful acquisition of two new passport printing machines, which have already been delivered for installation at Nyayo House in Nairobi.