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The new fees were announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, who was granted the authority to revise charges and levies on services provided by the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services.
The revised fees covered essential services such as ID application, replacement, passport application, visa processing, and other registration and immigration services.
The new fees were met with widespread discontent among citizens, with many taking to social media platforms to voice their concerns and frustrations.
The move to suspend the new fees was welcomed by many Kenyans who felt that the increased charges were too high and would make it difficult for them to access essential services.
Some of the revised fees included:
- Replacement of ID cards: Sh2,000, up from Sh100
- Registration of birth and death certificates: Sh200, up from Sh50.
- Ordinary passport (34 pages): Sh7,500, up from Sh4,500.
- 50-page passport: Sh9,500, up from Sh6,000.
- 66-page passport: Sh12,500, up from Sh7,500.
- Lost passport: Sh20,000, up from Sh12,000.
- Replacement of mutilated passport: Sh20,000, up from Sh10,000.
READ: Kenyans react to new 'cost of leaving' plus other ID & immigration services
The suspension of the new fees means that Kenyans will continue to pay the old fees for essential services such as ID application, replacement, passport application, visa processing, and other registration and immigration services.
The revised fees are seen by some as an additional financial burden on citizens already grappling with economic challenges.
Some have claimed that after failing to bring down the cost of living, the government has turned to increasing the cost of leaving the country for Kenyans looking for better opportunities abroad.