The government has announced an increase in the service fee for passports and visas.
In a special gazette notice, the govt announced that the fee for an ordinary 66-page passport has been increased from Ksh7,500 to Ksh12,000.
Meanwhile, the fee for an ordinary 34-page passport has been hiked from Ksh4,500 to Ksh7,500.
The fee for a diplomatic 50-page document is also set to rise from Ksh7,500 to Ksh15,000 while the fee for an ordinary 50-page document will tick up from Ksh7,500 to Ksh9,500.
Conversely, the cost of replacing a lost passport will now increase from Ksh12,000 to Ksh20,000 while the cost of replacing a mutilated passport will increase from Ksh10,000 to Ksh20,000.
Meanwhile, the fees for single journey visas have been doubled from Ksh7,572 to Ksh15,145 while the fee for a multiple journey visa has been hiked from Ksh15,145 to Ksh75,725.
Meanwhile, extending a visa, which was initially free will now be charged Ksh30,290 while the application for visas for Kenyan children which was also free will now be the same price.
The cost of applying temporary permit passport and a service passport has however not been hiked.
The immigration and other consular fees take effect immediately.
CS Kindiki had earlier reshuffled the whole immigration department following a backlog of passport processing at the Nyayo house.
While making the announcement, CS Kindiki announced that the government had introduced a 24-hour working shift, to reduce the backlog.
CS Kindiki also promised to open a new immigration office in Kericho town by January 2024, to reduce the workload in Kisumu and Eldoret offices.