Kenya passport, ID card issuance reforms paying off: Julius Bitok

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Prof Julius Bitok, has told parliament that reforms they introduced to expedite the issuance of biometric passports and ID cards over a year ago have led to a significant cut in the processing time of these important identity documents.

Bitok was speaking recently in front of the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. During the exchange, he defended issues raised in the report of the Auditor General for the financial year ending June 30, 2023, according to Capital News.

Bitok told lawmakers that when they came in about two years ago, the Immigration and Citizen Services Department faced several problems in the issuance of identity documents, with passports taking about three months to be issued. National ID cards used to take almost for ever for applicants to obtain them.

But with the reforms they introduced, passports are now issued within seven days for normal procedure and 24 hours for emergency cases, while ID cards can be processed and printed within a period of 10 days, he explained.

Responding to concerns from some of the lawmakers over problems related to the issuance of passports and national ID cards, as well as civil registration, Bitok said the acquisition of new printing machines has enabled them not only to clear the huge passport backlog that existed, but to also increase their daily passport issuance capacity to 10,000. Measures, he said, have also been taken to avoid shortages of passport booklets, which often, were at the origin of such backlogs. In this regard, he said the quantity of booklets already procured can serve the country until the end of 2025.

Civil registration digitization continuing

For civil registration, Bitok told the Committee members of the efforts they have deployed to ramp up the process through digitization, adding that measures are being taken to bring civil registration services closer to the people by ensuring that all constituencies of the country have a civil registration center. As part of the reforms, Bitok said the digitization of civil registration has seen about 90 percent of all applications done online, with just seven days required to issue a civil registration certificate.

While mentioning that they are expanding their collaboration, including with schools, to facilitate the issuance of ID cards to students who have reached the age to obtain them, Bitok also noted the increase in the number of ID issuance centers. In mid-November, the Directorate of Immigration Services said 900,000 students preparing for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams will receive a Maisha ID card.

These reforms, Bitok said, have brought not only efficiency and expediency to the process, but also ease of access and convenience.

Kenya announced some changes to its passport, ID card and civil registration processes last year. These changes included an upward revision of issuance fees for obtaining these services.

Controversy on passport renewal for married women

In a passport related subject, the Nigeria Immigrations Service (NIS) was forced to clear the air last week after a viral post on X suggested that married women were required to present their husbands’ identity before having their passports renewed as a new policy.

As reported by The Guardian, a woman, simply identified as Ijeoma, said she was told she needed to attach the biodata page of her husband’s passport or proof of his identity (NIN) before she could have her passport renewed. She questioned if that was a new NIS policy.

The post stirred controversy on social media, and the NIS, in reaction, debunked the information saying “there is no requirement for a married Nigerian woman to attach her husband’s passport page or proof of his identity in order to renew her passport.”

“Nigerian International Passport renewal process remains based on the individual’s identity documents. Any claims suggesting otherwise are incorrect,” the NIS added.

However, it said while it is not a general rule, there are two scenarios in which a married woman is required to show proof of her husband’s identity. These include a scenario of change of data as a result of marriage or as a result of divorce.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric passport  |  civil registration  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  identity document  |  Kenya