Kenya Announces New Protocol of Issuing Passports
The government through the Immigration Department on Thursday, July 30, announced that those who hadย applied for passportsย could get the documents delivered directly to them.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Postal Corporation of Kenya, the two government bodies agreed to embark on an initiative to offer convenience to applicants.
Post Master Generalย Dan Kagweย and Director General of theย Immigration Departmentย Alexander Muteshiย stated that the new protocol would aid in preventing theย spread of the Covid-19 virus.
“Through the initiative, passport applicants will not have to visit our offices to pick ready passports,” Muteshi stated.
“This will significantly save time for applicants, reduce congestion in our offices, and help in the fight against the spread of Covid-19,” Muteshi further added.
The initiative will be fully operational from August 1, 2020, and is currently in the pilot stage.
Additionally, the Director-General encouragedย online visa applicationsย especially at this period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Directorate of Immigration Services would like to inform all those wishing to visit Kenya as tourists or for any other purpose and who require visas to enter Kenya that they can apply for the Kenya visa online,” he stated.
Operations at the Immigration Department have been scaled down in order to adaptย to the Covid-19ย pandemic andย to adhere to theย safety guidelinesย by the Ministry of Health (MoH).
Scaled-down activities included the processing of all passports and other applications, processing of foreigner certificate (Alien card), collection of biometrics for all applications, collection and endorsement of permits, and collection of permanent residence certificates.
The processing and collecting of passports was in May 2020 restricted to medical emergency and urgent cases only.
