E-Passport Applicants To Now Book For Appointment With Immigration Via e-Citizen

In another tactic to collect more revenue the Department of Immigration has introduced an appointment system for Kenyans seeking to apply for the new generation passports. Passport applicants will have to book an appointment in the eCitizens portal specifying the date, time and the station of their convenience.

Through an advisory on Sunday, the department said the appointment system will enable better planning for applicants to take biometrics at passport processing stations.

Those who have already made applications for e-passports online, have been asked to revisit eCitizen and book their appointments.

Sick people who have urgent appointments to travel abroad for medical attention will be exempted from the process. Also exempted are students on scholarships that require immediate travel abroad, public servants on urgent official assignments aboard and business executives on urgent official business visits outside the country given they produce evidence

The newly introduced appointment system seeks to address congestion in passport processing centres by ensuring that only those who have booked appointments can visit passport centres.

These changes come at a time when President Uhuru Kenyatta merged the Immigration and interior departments. Detailed in Executive Order No. 6 of 2019 released on Friday, Kenyatta created the State Department for Interior and Citizens Services which will discharge functions previously assigned to the State Department of Interior and State Department for Immigration, Border Control and Registration of Persons.