NAIROBI, Kenya—Kenyans seeking to travel outside the country are relieved after the government announced that it had procured a new set of passport booklets.
Taking to her official X account (formerly Twitter, the Director General of Immigration Services, Evelyn Cheluget, said the government had procured 100,000 passport booklets,
“These passport booklets will enable us to provide timely and efficient passport services,” said Cheluget, who joined the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Bitok, in receiving the consignment.
Y News understands that Immigration offices are now accepting new applications, and pending applications are being processed accordingly.
How the Department of Immigration Services attempted to address the issue
The Department of Immigration Services restored complete immigration services in June 2024.
In May 2024, the Department attempted to reduce the backlog of passport applications by pausing the processing and issuance of all immigration applications, including those for citizenship, work permits, and permanent residence, for two weeks.
The backlog was expected to be cleared by August 2024 by implementing new standard government processing times.
During those two weeks, immigration offices did not accept new applications and did not process or issue any pending petitions.
“We regret to inform our clients that we are experiencing a downtime that has affected our normal passport application receiving and collection services. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue and ensure the resumption of normal services as soon as possible,” the Department announced.
What Julius Bitok said after receiving the new set of passport booklets
However, Y News noted that border management services and business and tourist Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) applications were not impacted.
But while receiving the passport booklets on Tuesday, August 13, in Nairobi, Bitok said the continuous procurement of the documents is part of the reforms initiated by the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Kindiki Kithure.
“This move is aimed at streamlining the issuance of passports to Kenyans,” said Bitok.
Due to the automation of several services, Kenyans must now apply online and schedule an appointment to take their biometrics on the 27th floor of Nyayo House.
Some Kenyans, however, have expressed dissatisfaction with the time it takes to process their passports, which can cause problems when they try to travel.
