Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said Thursday that Kenya is set to receive two new passport printers by the end of March.
This will see applicants get the traveling documents within 21 days of application from April 2024, he said.
The directorate Wednesday received 112,700 passport booklets comprising 92,400,50-page (B-series) and 20,300,66-page (C-series).
This consignment is in addition to 50,000- 50 -page booklets received, he said.
“Additional booklets, including the 34-page (A-series), have already been procured and are expected in the country from next month,” he said.
Bitok said the issuance of passports will be prioritised on a first-in-first-out basis. “Applicants with pending 34-page passports who have an urgent need to travel are advised to upgrade their applications to the 50-page booklet through the eCitizen portal. No physical visit to Immigration offices is necessary to apply for the upgrade.”
He added applicants with pending applications and those who are yet to collect their passports can track the status of their applications by sending an SMS with their e-Citizen application reference code to 22222.
To enhance the passport issuance capacity and reduce the waiting time, the Directorate has procured two modern passport printing machines that will be ready for commissioning by April 2024.
Additional servers have also been installed to stabilise the system and secure relevant data, he said.
He added they are currently undertaking a comprehensive infrastructural upgrade of its facilities to provide a user-friendly environment and to accommodate the high rise in the number of clients.
Bitok who spoke after he received new passport printing booklets said the state expects to receive another one million books in the coming weeks.
The Principal Secretary said that with the additions, the country is now well-prepared to address the passport backlog issue.
Bitok said the acquisitions will now see Kenyans receive their passports within 21 days.
“This improvement ensures a smoother and faster process, ensuring that all applicants will now receive their passports within a maximum of 21 days.”
This comes even as Kenya grapples with a backlog, which has been attributed to use of an old printer and lack of printing booklets.
Bitok assured Kenyans that they have intensified its operations to process and print passports and to clear the backlog of applications that has been occasioned by a surge in demand.
Last month, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki took fault for the delayed progress in passport issuance.
Kindiki acknowledged the pain and frustration experienced by many Kenyans seeking passports for various reasons, resulting in lost employment opportunities and restricted travel for medical care, education, business, or leisure.
“The prevailing state of affairs is inexcusable, considering that it is the right of every Kenyan to acquire citizenship documents, including travel documents. As the Cabinet Secretary overseeing passport issuance, I take responsibility for the slow pace of reforms and the prevailing systemic inefficiencies,” he said.
The CS highlighted that it was a result of years of insufficient investment in production infrastructure, accumulating supplier debts, and corrupt practices.
Kindiki also committed to conclusively resolving the challenges surrounding passport issuance, aiming to create efficiency and timely service delivery in the shortest time possible.
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