The Kenyan Government has announced the extension of the deadline to stop the use of the old Kenyan passports by a further 10 months until December 31st 2021.
According to the Interior Ministry, the extension comes after a delay caused by the scaling down of operations at the Directorate of Immigration Services, in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.
This is the third time that the deadline has been postponed with the first deadline being August 2019, and the second time being February 2020. In 2020, the Interior Ministry stated the reason for extension of the deadline was the fact that about 1.8 Million Kenyans in the diaspora were yet to replace their old passports with the new Kenyan passport.
The Government of Kenya has been in the process of phasing out the old passports as part of the binding commitment made to migrate to the new Kenyan passport.
The immigration centres currently processing the new Kenyan passports in Kenya are in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kisii, Eldoret, and Embu. The passports are also being issued at the Kenyan embassy in Washington DC, in Berlin, Paris, London, Johannesburg and Dubai.
Kenyans are advised to make the necessary arrangements and acquire the electronic passports at the earliest opportunity possible to avoid travelling inconveniencies.
Starting 1st January 2022, the old Kenyan passport will be null and void. No Kenyan will be able to travel internationally without a valid new Kenyan passport.
The new Kenyan passport has new features which includes:
- Electronic chip holding the same information as the old Kenyan passport.
- Biometric identifier.
- Digital photograph of the passport holder.
- Security features to prevent unauthorized use and forgery.
- Details of the new Kenyan Passport will be registered with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)