- Immigration PS Julius Bitok announced the acquisition of two new machines to accelerate passport printing
- The new equipment will increase daily capacity to 10,000 passports, and Bitok urged Kenyans to collect over 90,000 unclaimed travel documents
- He acknowledged past delays and assured that applicants will now wait only seven days post-application
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Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.
Nairobi – The Immigration Department has announced the acquisition of two new passport printing machines, a move aimed at streamlining passport processing and significantly reducing waiting times for applicants.
Source: Twitter
Speaking on Wednesday, October 30, Principal Secretary Julius Kibet Bitok stated that with the new equipment in place, the department now can print up to 10,000 passports daily.
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How long does it take to process passports?
According to a report by Citizen TV, this increased output is expected to enable applicants to receive their passports within seven days of application, a significant improvement from previous delays.
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“Initially, we had two machines that had the capacity of producing 3,000 copies per day. But today, after acquiring two additional printing machines, we have a production capacity of 10,000 passports within 24 hours. We have also procured enough booklets, a million of them that will last the directorate until April 2025,” the PS said.
“I am glad to inform Kenyans that currently, it takes only seven days to apply and get passports,” Bitok firmly stated.
Bitok acknowledged the extended wait times Kenyans have faced in recent months, with processing sometimes taking as long as three months.
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Addressing the backlog, he urged Kenyans with pending applications to collect their passports from various designated centres, noting that over 90,000 passports remain unclaimed nationwide.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
