Interior CS Fred Matiang'i has extended the deadline for the migration to the second generation passports E-Passports which was set for March 2021.
In a statement on February 4, the Interior CS extended the deadline of phasing out the old passports by a further 10 months until December 31, 2021.
Matiang'i explained that the extension of the deadline was due to the disruption of service during the Covid-19 pandemic which forced the Directorate of Immigration Services to scale down its operations in an effort to enforce containment measures.
"The government has been in the process of phasing out the old-generation passports as part of the binding commitment made to migrate to the new East African Community biometric e-passport," he stated.
CS Matiang'i added that this was the final extension barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Kenyans are advised to make the necessary arrangements and acquire electronic passports at the earliest opportunity possible to avoid inconveniences.
"For the avoidance of doubt, starting 1st January 2022, the old dark blue passport will be null and void and no Kenyan will be able to travel internationally without a valid East African Community biometric e-passport," the ministry maintained.
The Interior ministry has extended the deadline on several occasions with the previous extension being in February 2020.
At the time, CS Matiang'i noted that 1.8 million Kenyans, mostly in the diaspora, were yet to replace their old passports with the East African Community biometrics e-passports.
In a bid to scale up the operations, the ministry set up and operationalized four passport control centers across the country.
The four centers are located in Nakuru, Kisii, Eldoret, and Embu.
The ministry further set up six other centers in the diaspora, with three in Europe (Berlin, Paris, and London) and one in the US (Washington DC).
