New IDs to be issued within 10 days - PS Bitok

Starting October next month, Kenyans applying for new ID cards will receive their documents in just 10 days.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said on Monday that the reduced processing time would be possible due to the rollout of live capture equipment at Huduma Centres and National Registration Bureau (NRB) offices across the country.

Additionally, NRB has enhanced its printing capacity with the recent acquisition of two new printers.

"It will now take you not more than 10 working days from the date of application down from at least 21 days to get your ID. We want Kenyans to acquire their IDs as quickly and conveniently as possible,"  Bitok added.

The PS made this announcement during the World ID celebrations held in Katoloni, Machakos County.

The annual event, observed on September 16, highlights the importance of national ID cards and other registration documents.

The celebration in Machakos included on-the-spot registration for IDs, birth certificates, and certificates of good conduct.

Machakos was chosen for this year's event due to its large number of eligible applicants, with around 32,000 youth ready for registration.

Currently, Machakos County has a birth registration rate of 78 per cent and a death registration rate of 43 per cent.

During the event, local leaders requested the establishment of an Immigration office in the area to improve access to passports and other travel documents.

Machakos Town MP Caleb Mule also urged the government to open additional NRB and Civil Registration Services (CRS) offices to reduce the need for residents to travel long distances for services.

"Our citizens are commuting long distances in search of identity documents. For instance, residents of Machakos, Makueni, Kajiado, and Kitui counties currently face the burden of travelling to Embu or Nairobi for passports, which is costly and time-consuming," the MP said.

The government has indicated that it will consider these requests to make accessing essential documents easier for residents.

 Printing of ID cards had been halted by a court in November 2023 but the orders were lifted in February this year.

Since then, Bitok in June revealed that over 600,000 new IDs have been printed.

In June, the government acquired a new ID card printing machine and adopted a 24-hour strategy to, among others, clear the current backlog and fast-track new applications.

 The then-existing printer could print 700 IDs against a current daily demand of 8000 new IDs and an almost similar number for duplicates.

The demand was however subject to seasonal fluctuations based on the education calendar and nationwide recruitment drives.

In addition, PS Bitok also said the government targets a full transition to the Maisha Digital ID for all Kenyans within three years.

The issue of identification cards has been thorny among applicants as it affected many processes.

For instance, students need the documents to apply and join various learning institutions.