The State Department of Immigration has announced the resumption of normal operations for passport issuance after a period of downtime.
In a statement released on Thursday, May 2, 2024, the Department expressed gratitude to clients for their patience and understanding during the temporary disruption.
"@ImmigrationDept We are pleased to inform all our clients that we have resumed normal operations in the issuance of passports. We thank you for your patience and understanding during the period that we experienced a downtime," the Immigration Department wrote on X.
@ImmigrationDept We are pleased to inform all our clients that we have resumed normal operations in the issuance of passports. We thank you for your patience and understanding during the period that we experienced a downtime.— Immigration Services | Kenya (@ImmigrationDept) May 2, 2024
The announcement comes as a relief to many Kenyans who have been waiting for passport services amidst the nearly 48-hour halt in operations.
With operations now back on track, individuals can once again proceed with their passport applications and renewals.
Downtime
The resumption of normal operations for passport issuance comes nearly 48 hours after the Immigration Department announced a downtime.
In a statement on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, the Immigration Department acknowledged experiencing a downtime that has disrupted its normal passport application receiving and collection services.
The department assured affected applicants that alternative dates would be provided promptly as restoration efforts are underway.
"We regret to inform our clients that we are currently 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.
"Affected applicants will be provided with alternative dates as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience caused," part of the statement read.
Passport application fees
The government in March 2024 implemented revised fees for some of its services, including passports, IDs, birth and death certificates, and work permit applications.
As of March 1, individuals applying for an ordinary 34-page passport pay Ksh7,500, a significant rise from the previous Ksh4,500. Meanwhile, the cost of a 50-page passport was increased to Ksh9,500 from the prior Ksh6,000.
The new fees was implemented following the conclusion of a public engagement exercise conducted last year between November 14, 2023, and December 5, 2023, the government said in a memo dated February 29, 2024.
“You may recall that the effective date for the implementation of these charges was 1 January 2024. However, the said charges were to be subject to public participation before coming into effect,” part of the memo from the director of the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
“The purpose of this circular is therefore to inform you that the revised fees, charges and levies will come into effect from 1 March 2024 and all our services will be charged accordingly," the memo added.
The memo was copied to all section heads, regional coordinators, national registrars, district coordinators and sub-district registrars.
Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki published the new rates in a gazette notification No. 241 on November 14, 2023, where all services provided by the Immigration Department had been reviewed upwards.
