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Kenyans who are yet to acquire e-passports can now breathe a sigh of relief after the government extended the deadline for phasing out of the old-generation passports.
The new deadline for migration to digital passports is March 1st, 2021, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i announced in a statement on Monday, February 24th.
The government had originally set August 31st, 2019 as the closing date for the usage of the dark blue machine-readable passports before the deadline was pushed to March 1st, 2020.
CS Matiang’i said the move to extend the deadline by 12 months was informed by a large number of Kenyans, especially those in the diaspora, who are yet to switch to digital passports. At least 1.8 million Kenyans are yet to acquire the new-generation passport.
“…the government hereby extends the deadline for voiding the current dark blue machine-readable passport by 12 months. As such, its holders may continue using it until March 1, 2021, when it will no longer be valid for travel,” Matiang’i said in the statement.
“Considering this is the second extension, the 1.8 million Kenyans still holding the dark blue passport are urged to take full advantage of this period to acquire the EAC-format electronic passports at the earliest opportunity possible, to avoid the last-minute rush, unnecessary jam-ups at the centers, and traveling inconveniences.”
He further disclosed that they hope to achieve same-day issuance of e-passports by July 1st this year.
To speed up the process of migration to e-passports, CS Matiang’i said the government had opened four new immigration stations in Nakuru, Kisii, Eldoret, and Embu.
Further to this, six more centers were set up abroad including in Berlin (Germany), Paris (France), London (the United Kingdom), Washington DC (the United States), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Dubai (the United Arab Emirates).
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What a banana republic! A government sits somewhere and decides that the best thing to do is render its' citizens outside the country IDless by cancelling passports that are valid some for seven years to go.In their moronic wisdom they would not even do what civilized countries do anytime a new law is put in place called "grandfather rule" where all those caught in the middle of law change are allowed to continue in the program until the validity of or upon "graduation" provided no new people are enrolled.To be forced to go and change the only VALID document you have that identifies you at the whims of stupid guys sitting in a bar in Kenya is pure madness.Even if the WORLD was to switch to e-whatever a civilized government would petition that all their citizens outside the country be allowed to use the old documents through validity or until they travel back home in which case a new passport will be needed to travel back abroad.But then Kenya is special!
I knew this was going to happen and thank God I did not feel the pressure to apply for the so called ePassport. Someone really benefited from this moronic decision.
There comes a time when people should ask themselves the hard questions before crying foul. e.g. What’s the point of a biometric passport?
-Switching to ePassports is primarily to improve safety and security,making the passport much harder to replicate or forge.
And therefore many countries are moving towards the issuance of biometric passports.
-Malaysia was the first country to issue biometric passports in 1998.[1] In December 2008, 60 countries were issuing such passports,[2] which increased to 120 by June 2017.[3]
-There are more than 100 States and non-state entities (i.e. United Nations) currently issuing ePassports, and over 490 million ePassports in circulation.(source ICAO)
- You'll feel the benefit of travelling with a digital passport when you're able to use the ePassport gate in border control which makes getting through airport security much more efficient.Now you Know or Know that you didn't know!!
That an e-passport is more secure than the Old passport is not in doubt. The problem is the ad-hoc way the GoK goes about implementing the whole thing. There was absolutely no planning or consultation. Someone just woke up one day and decided that everyone should have an e-passport, without thinking about the legal and logistical huddles. A passport is the main form of ID that someone in a foreign country has. Machines at any point of entry read the information stored in the barcode. How is the GoK going to 'tell' machines in foreign countries not to 'accent' Old passports from Kenyans? And even if they were somehow to succeed, what would be the excuse for barring Kenyans Internationally, when others from other countries are allowed to use the same passport? And Matiang'i should explain what Kenyan Students abroad with Old passports are supposed to do. Mark you, a Visa is a stamp on a page in the passport. A student Visa is usually for four years, and is the property of the Government issuing it. Are Kenyan Students supposed to cut short their studies, so that they can look for an e-passport, and then go back to the foreign Embassy in Kenya for a new Visa? I think that the Government has already realized their mistake, but are too embarrassed to accept it. So they will just keep 'postponing' the deadline, until the Old passports are all naturally phased out, as they expire.
No one is disputing the need for enhanced security that the e-passport provide. What is mind-boggling is the clusterfuck of the roll-out. I have a valid passport for the next 4 years. Once it expires, I will very much welcome it if/when they issue me with an e-passport.
Why do this jokers keep moving their deadline!They should make it simple for themselves and everyone else by saying that "from now on, anyone who applies to renew their expired passport will only be replaced with the new digital passport.Why force people to renew their unexpired passports?
How about kenyans in the US have travel to Washington DC embassy to have biometrics taken after you have filled out all the paperwork online!!
Don't do it, if your passport is still valid. It is nonsense. You cannot be prevented from traveling anywhere in the world, including Kenya, if you have a valid (read unexpired) passport. And if it is expired, you would still have to renew it, whether with an e-passport, or not. Just don't feel pressured to go with their 'deadlines', if you still have a valid passport. There is nothing the GoK can do, despite the threats. And if your passport is expired, you would still have to renew it, e-passport, or not. You have nothing to lose.
The Government should just come out clean, and say the truth. Whoever issued 'deadlines' for Kenyans to get e-passports had no Authority to do so, because the GoK cannot invalidate a legal document, which has not expired. They cannot invalidate a Visa issued by another Country, on a valid passport. There is no mechanism for doing it. They only have the power to decide that all new passports will be e-passports, including replacements. And that is already happening. Even that deadline of March 2021 will come and go, and they will still not be able to stop anyone with a passport which has not expired from traveling.