Now will be a good time to storm government offices looking for an E-passport cause as at August 31at 2019 all machine-readable passports will have expired according to The Ministry of foreign affairs.
Applicants are required to log onto the e-citizen platform enter their identification details to get an e-passport. Kenyans will have to part with Ksh.4,550 to Ksh.7,550 depending on pages needed for the online application process of E-passport to be successful. Successful applicants are expected to print three copies of the invoice as proof of payment to be handed over at the Immigration Department.
To document the whole process, applicants are expected to bring along original and photocopies of birth certificates and ID, copy of the previous passport if any, parents’ national ID or death certificate where applicable, children’s birth certificate (if any), copy of recommender’s ID card and three passport-size photographs.
Earlier on the ministry had announced that all Kenyan passport holders will be required to switch to the new document by September 2, a move set to eliminate the need for an East African passport as agreed by the African Union with the new generation passports having more security features than the previous machine-read ones.
“While allowable validity period of a passport varies from one jurisdiction to the next, it is an international norm while applying for a visa or entering another country, a passport must be valid for at least six (6) months,” noted Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau
He also noted that the Head of Public Service had issued a circular to all public servants which require them to acquire the new e-passports before the August deadline. He also said the ministry will not be in a position to facilitate the issuance of visa to travelers who do not have the electronic passports.
A few weeks ago, Immigration Principal Secretary Gordon Kihalangwa declared that any Kenyan who will apply for a passport without prior Huduma Namba registration will be treated as a foreigner. Is about time, my country people rethink their attitude towards Huduma Namba and this whole passport procedure.
