Passport processing to take 3 days only from November 1-CS Kindiki

The newly commissioned printers are expected to reduce passport wait times, which have stranded scores of people seeking jobs, education, business, and healthcare.  

According to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, beginning May 1, it will take 21 days to produce a passport, with the period expected to be reduced to 7 days starting August 1. 

According to CS Kindiki, the passport processing time will be reduced to three days beginning November 1, putting an end to the nightmare backlog that had eluded Immigration for years. 

This week, the government is expected to outline a schedule for the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), including publishing the names of 50k applicants whose passports have been produced but have not yet been collected.

CS Kindiki has also directed the Immigration Department to develop a sustainable plan to ensure that the backlog challenge does not return.

The two new printing machines at Nyayo House are expected to produce approximately 600 passports per hour, aligning with the Interior Ministry's goal of doubling the number of passports issued in 2024 to at least one million, up from 533,000 in 2023.

The Directorate of Immigration has a daily demand of of 5,000 passport applications, and with the commissioning of the two new printers, the Department will be capable of producing approximately 250 to 300 passports per hour. 

When combined with the two existing printers, the directorate's overall capacity will reach 5,600 passports within an eight-hour period, and over 10,000 passports produced within 24 hours.