The government of Kenya has been extending the deadline for the adoption of e-passports for more than two years now since the original deadline. This exercise was to be completed by the beginning of 2021 but the deadline was extended due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Cabinet Secretary for Interior, Dr. Fred Matiang’i has pushed the deadline towards the end of 2021. This move was made after the authorities noticed that people are still using the older passports. This means that Kenyans have amble time to acquire the non-digital passports.
Kenya moved to the use of the digital passports in 2017. The roll out was scheduled for September 2017 but it met many obstacles including congestion at the application centre in Nairobi. As a solution the state opened 10 new immigration centres to ease the congestion.
The government of Kenya also established six other centres abroad in Dubai, Washington DC, Johannesburg, Berlin, Paris and London.
For the first time, in July 2019 the state extended the deadline for the new passports to March 2020. To fasten the process, the government announced that the issuance of passports and other identification will be done within a single day starting from 1 July 2020.
From the look of things the deadline may not be changed again. Therefore, go and replace your old passport when you can because after the deadline, you won’t be allowed to travel abroad without the digital passport.
