Kenya’s immigration department has finally started to issue citizens with the new e-passports after holding off for two years. The new passports will allow freer movement and faster clearing at ports of entry and exit.
The e-passports will differ from the old ones on the basis that they are going to have chips incorporated in them that will hold the passport holder’s biometric information. Holders of the old passports are allowed to use them for the next two years before they switch to the new generation ones. The upgrade will therefore first apply to those who are applying for the first time and for those who are renewing until the current passports are phased out.
According to the immigration department, the application procedure will remain the same, which is through the e-citizen portal. Apart from the application procedures, the cost of the new passports will also remain the same with the applicants expected to part with Sh4, 550 for a 32-page passport and Sh6, 050 for the 48-page passport.
The new e-passports are expected to not only replace the ordinary passports but the diplomatic and EAC passports as well. For the ordinary passports, their validation will still be up to 10 years while the Diplomatic passport will be valid according to specific term of the service of the holder.
This move is in line with the agreement between the East African countries to have e-passports before January next year. The EAC Secretariat said, “The EA e-Passport … will be in line with implementation of the Common Market protocol which guaranteed the right to move between countries in East Africa.”
The move has been adopted by many countries within the African continent with 50 countries, including Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Mauritius and Morocco already having issued e-passports to their citizens.
