Kenya Launches e-Passports

Kenya has a new plan to avoid issuing multiple passports to the same person. Launching e-passport on Thursday the immigration department said current passports will be rendered obsolete in two years and they will start processing as well as issuing of the new passport from September 1.

Director of Immigration Gordon Kihalangwa said, “The Immigration Department will no longer process and issue the current ordinary, diplomatic and East African passports.”

Kihalangwa said the department has received 1,800 e-passport application and the new kind of passport will be equipped with electronic chip along with owner’s details.

He added there are 16,000 applications backlog for the current passport and these will be processed as e-passports too. The owners will be urged to give their signatures and other details for the new modernized system.

The department said processing of new passports will be faster and the efficiency will be up to 2,000 units a day unlike the current passport that was limited to just 800 units.

Meanwhile, about 3,000 passports have been processed and printed, but the owners will be encourage to apply for the new e-passports.

It is learned the new kind of passport will be highly secured and difficult to produce duplicates. Its data base will come with Automated Fingerpritn Verification System (AFIS) to guard against issuance of more than one passport to the same person.