Nairobi immigration office to remain open on Saturday for passport collection

Kenyans based in Nairobi can now collect their printed passports on Saturday, May 18, 2024, after the Immigration Department announced that its main offices at Nyayo House will remain open for four hours.

Applicants seeking to collect the passports thus have between 9 am and 1 pm to visit the offices.

"Applicants who applied for passports in Nairobi and have received a notification to collect their passports are encouraged to take advantage of the extended service," reads the notice.

Last week, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said systems were aligned after his ministry acquired two new printers for the personalisation of passport details.

Initially, there was a historic backlog of 720,000 passports that had accumulated between June 2021 and March 2024.

However, as of last week, 684,500 had already been collected by their respective holders.

Copies of ready-printed, uncollected Passports at Nyayo House on May 13, 2024. (Photos: Ministry of Interior and National Administration)

"It took a bit of time to get exchequer funding, pay pending supplier debts, dismantle the corruption cartels, and acquire and install modern, high-capacity printing equipment," Kindiki stated.

On Monday, the Interior Ministry announced that the Immigration Department will fast-track the collection of 39,500 ready but uncollected passports from the backlog of 45,000.

This was after 5,500 passports were collected between Thursday, May 9, 2024, and Saturday, May 11, 2024.

With new printing machines and passport booklets, the CS announced that all new applicants will receive their passports within 21 days from the date of application, while urgent cases will be handled immediately.

Kindiki added that the waiting period will be reduced to seven days from August 1 and further to three days effective November 1, 2024.

However, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, the National Assembly recommended that Kenyans applying for passports receive the travel document within three days of submitting their application. The ministry, they added, ought to ensure the changes take place as soon as possible.

Through the National Assembly's Committee on National Administration and Internal Security, the legislators also recommended that the government open more immigration offices across the country to make it easier for citizens to acquire passports.

They argued that many applicants are forced to travel long and costly distances to access Nyayo House and the eight regional immigration offices.

Kenyans queue for passport application at Nyayo House in February 2024. (Photo: Kithure Kindiki/)