Residents of Garissa and surrounding counties can breathe a sigh of relief following the opening of a new passports office.
President William Ruto who presided over the opening of the new office in Garissa town and that will also offer other Immigration services said the station was in line with the policy of ensuring all citizens have equal access to government services.
He said the opening of the office was also a fulfillment of his administration electoral pledge to restore passport printing services after they were stopped in 2014.
Garissa and other regional offices ceased issuing passports to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations for centralized printing of passports and other travel documents to reinforce their security from forgery and other manipulations.
However, investments in a modern and integrated e-Passport Management System has enabled the Directorate of Immigration to decentralize passport application process while adhering to ICAO and other global passport security guidelines.
Besides Garissa county, the new Immigration office will offer convenience to Mandera, Wajir and parts of Tana River, Lamu, Kitui and Isiolo counties saving applicants expenses in transport and time currently spent accessing services in Nairobi and other regional offices.
Garissa becomes the 10th passport application centre in Kenya and the third to be opened after Kericho and Bungoma.
The others are Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Embu, Eldoret and Kisii.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the reopening of the Garissa office and the elimination of vetting for national ID cards applicants for residents of border counties will promote fairness and equality in access to identity and registration documents.
He said with the stoppage of vetting, the Garissa Immigration office was expected to witness a high demand for passports applications.
‘Yesterday (Wednesday) in Wajir, the President signed a proclamation vacating vetting for ID cards in North Eastern region and other border counties. With the new Immigration office in Garisa, we believe eligible applicants will flock in big numbers to apply for passports and other services.”
Director General immigration services Evelyn Cheluget said Garissa will significantly improve access for residents of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Lamu, and Kitui counties.
The new office will have a dedicated migrant labour desk for fast-tracked passport applications for those pursuing foreign job opportunities.
It will also be central in providing passports to around 2,000 Hajj Pilgrims and travelers for medical, studies, business, social and leisure visits.
According to SUPKEM chair Hassan Ole Naado, over 50% of Hajj pilgrims come from the Northeastern Region.
This year, Kenya has been allocated 4,500 slots for Hajj that must obtain relevant visas by April in time for the religious gathering in May.
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