President William Ruto has announced that the time it takes to get a passport in Kenya has been reduced to between two and three days, offering relief to many applicants.
Speaking on Saturday at KICC in Nairobi, the President said those travelling abroad for jobs are already benefiting from the faster process.
“If you have a job abroad, it now takes 2-3 days to get your passport,” he said.
For a long time, applying for a passport has been a major challenge for many Kenyans. In some instances, some people took weeks and even months to get their passports, particularly during the period when the number of pending applications exceeded 700,000.
According to the government, the situation has also been made better by the acquisition of new high-speed printers that are capable of printing over 10,000 passports per day, which is more than the number of applicants per day.
Despite all this, however, not everyone appears to be perceiving the situation the same way. While some people are reportedly able to get their passports within a week of application, others are reportedly struggling to book appointments for the biometric process, particularly at some of the busiest places such as Nyayo House.
The process has not changed a great deal. It still takes 10 days for first-time applicants and 5 days for those renewing their passports, at least according to the eCitizen system.
Ruto also attributed this to the government’s efforts in ensuring that Kenyans find jobs outside the country, as over 540,000 people have already left the country in search of jobs.
In addition, the passport of Kenya has improved its ranking, moving from position 73 last year to position 64 this year, making it one of the best passports in the region.
