By Lauryne Akoth
Cabinet Secretary for Interior Kithure Kindiki has reiterated the Government’s commitment to fast-tracking passport application processes.
The CS announced the government’s plan to process passport applications within 3 days, effective 1st September 2024.
“The Government reiterates its commitment to ensure that effective 1st May 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 1st August 2024 and 3 days from 1st September 2024,” said the CS.
Kindiki who was in Nyayo House yesterday assessed the passport printing equipment and interacted with applicants as part of reforms initiated at the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services.
Kindiki also announced the clearance of the 724,000 passport backlog in the system from March 11, 2024.
Additionally, he noted that the 50,000 applications that were pending on Thursday, last week have been produced and are ready for delivery.
In alignment with the announcement made by Kindiki regarding the government’s procurement of ample passport printing equipment, Julius Bitok, the Principal Secretary of the State Department of Immigration, affirmed the acquisition of two new printers to enhance the efficiency of the application process.
“The reception of these new printers is a turning point in Service Delivery,” said Bitok. He assured Citizens that henceforth, backlogs are a thing of the past as passports will be printed around the clock.
Passport applicants can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Directorate of Immigration embarks on a Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) to expedite the collection of passports.
The names of passport applicants and the designated collection points will be published by the immigration department by next week, as per Kindiki’s orders.