Kenyans directed to renew old generation passports by November
By Peter Ochieng
Kenyans have until the end of November 2022, to renew their old-generation passports.
The old documents are supposed to be replaced by the new East African Community (EAC) biometric e-passports, by November 30, 2022.
Kenya started issuing new generation passports in 2017, and the process is expected to speed up as the new deadline approaches.
In 2019, former President Uhuru Kenyatta directed Kenyans to acquire the new passports by March 2020, before the deadline was pushed ahead.
Alexander Muteshi, Immigration Director General is urging Kenyans to get the new passports, indicating that the old generation documents will be useless by December 01, 2022.
“The Directorate of Immigration Services wishes to inform the general public that Kenya is bound to migrate fully to the new East African Community biometric e-passport by 30th November 2022,” said Muteshi in a statement.
“Kenyans are therefore hereby advised to acquire the new biometric e-passport to avoid any inconveniences,” he urged.
The EAC block brings together 7 Countries, namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
With the new passports, citizens of the EAC member states can enter and leave the member Countries freely using the e-gates, without having to interact with immigration officers.
