No Schengen Visa for Kenyans without e-Passports, Dutch Embassy Says

Only Kenyans holding e-passports will qualify for the Schengen visa beginning December 1st, the Netherlands Embassy in Kenya has announced.

In a notice, the Dutch Nairobi Embassy said anyone applying for a visa to their country will be required to have a digital passport.

 “As from 1st of December 2019, only the new East African Community biometric e-Passport can be accepted for Schengen visa applications,” the statement read.

The Schengen visa allows entry into 26 countries in Europe including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, and Hungary.

Others are Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

All old-generation Kenyan passports will be rendered invalid from March 1st, 2020, according to an official notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to all diplomatic missions.

The navy blue analog Kenyan passports were set to become obsolete on August 31st this year but President Kenyatta extended the deadline for their use to March 1st, 2020.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta has today directed Cabinet secretaries for Foreign Affairs and Interior to work with Foreign Missions across the world to facilitate the issuance of visas to Kenyans on the current passports. The directive has in effect, extended the deadline for travel on the new e-passport to March 1, 2020, for all Kenyans,” Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna announced in July.