Kenyans to Get Passports Within Three Weeks

Kenyan passports will now be issued to more than 60,000 applicants who have been waiting within three weeks.

After the government received over 100,000 blank visa booklets, Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok stated that the backlog would be cleared within 21 days.

“It will take you 21 days to receive your passport if you apply on the e-Citizen platform,” the PS said.

According to the most recent Immigration Department records, 63,265 passport applications are still awaiting issuance, the majority of which are for the popular 34-page A-series passports.

The backlog has been attributed to delays in the booklet supply and a spike in passport demand, particularly from Kenyans looking for employment abroad and students enrolling in foreign institutions.

PS Bitok stated that the government is discussing with potential investors the chance of investing in domestic passport production for more rapid and reasonably priced supplies.

“We’re in talks with investors for Public-Private Partnerships (PPT) so that we can manufacture and print these documents here in Kenya.”

Due to a shortage of booklets, a backlog of 15,358 A series passports, 10,045 B series passports, and 37,810 C series passports will now be cleared with dispatch.

According to Bitok, the new stock will sufficiently serve all passport series, so applicants do not need to change their top picks.

He encouraged more Kenyans to use the e-Citizen online passport application system to benefit from the digitization of governmental services.