Immigration Department issues deadline for Kenyans to change to new EAC e-passport

The Directorate of Immigration has announced that the deadline for Kenyans to apply for the new e-passports is November 30, 2022.

In a statement on Thursday, September 22, 2022, Director General of Immigration Servics Alexander Muteshi said that the move complied with agreements reached by the EAC Council of Ministers.

“Pursuant to the decision by EAC Council of Ministers held in Arusha from November 22 to 29, 2021, the deadline for phasing out of the old generation passport for EAC Member States is November 2022.

“In line with this decision, the Directorate of Immigration Services wishes to inform the general public that Kenya is bound to migrate fully to the new East African Community biometric e-passport by November 30, 2022,” read the statement.

An undated photo of Director General of Immigration Alexander Muteshi An undated photo of Director General of Immigration Alexander Muteshi Pulse Live Kenya

The deadline has been moved four times since 2019, following interventions by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Ministry of Interior has previously warned that the old dark blue passport will be null and void.

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This means that no Kenyan will be able to travel abroad without a valid East Africa Community biometric e-passport.

The e-passport aims to boost free movement of people across the EAC region and be in line with the implementation of the Common Market Protocol which guarantees free movement between EAC member states.

A photo of the old Kenyan passport and new EAC Passport Pulse Live Kenya

The new e-passports are embedded with tamper-proof chips which store the holder’s biodata such as the name, photo, fingerprints, date of issue and expiry of the passport, national ID and information on the holder’s travel itinerary.

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The normal e-passport is valid for up to 10 years while the diplomatic passport and service passports are valid according to the holder’s term of service.