Kenya to Introduce Third Category of Passport

The government is set to review the regulations governing the issuance of diplomatic passports to bring them in line with the 2010 Constitution, following concerns that several constitutional office holders have been excluded from the entitlement.

Appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on Thursday, November 5, Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang confirmed that the state is willing to amend the 2012 rules established under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act.

The parliamentary committee was reviewing a petition filed by the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), which highlighted unequal treatment of officials serving in independent commissions and constitutional offices regarding travel documentation.

Under the current 2012 framework, diplomatic passports are reserved for specific senior state officials. These include the President, Deputy President, Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, county governors, senior judicial officers, and security chiefs, alongside some of their spouses and dependants.

Former top officials, such as retired Deputy Presidents and their spouses, also receive diplomatic travel documents under separate legislation that recognises their ongoing roles in international election observation, peace missions, and mediation.

Dr Kipsang clarified that Regulation 13 allows the Interior Cabinet Secretary to grant diplomatic passports to unlisted individuals on a case-by-case basis when necessary for official government business. However, he stressed the need to protect the document's integrity and international standing, noting that diplomatic passports are strictly intended for diplomatic functions and state duties.

To address travel needs for public officers who fall outside the diplomatic bracket, the government has printed a new green-coloured service passport. Dr Kipsang told MPs that the document will be launched once the governing regulations are completed.

The service passport will serve as a third tier of official travel documentation, alongside ordinary and diplomatic passports. It will cover public servants and state officers travelling abroad on government business who do not qualify for diplomatic privileges. The document was previously issued to disciplined forces, including military and police personnel deployed on overseas assignments.

The proposed legal review and introduction of the service passport coincide with broader administrative reforms within the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen recently announced plans to upgrade the Malindi and Nyeri immigration offices to full-service centres capable of handling biometric capture, registration, and passport processing.