The government from next week will start a 30-day Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) for delivery of uncollected passports at Nyayo House, Nairobi and all regional offices.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday announced that the exercise which starts on September 25, 2023, is aimed at having the 87, 574 uncollected passports picked by their owners.
Data released by the Ministry reveals that Nairobi leads with 36,170 uncollected passports at Nyayo House, Embu Regional Office (10,409), Eldoret Regional Office (9,938), Kisumu Regional Office (9,515), Nakuru Regional Office (8,023), Kisii Regional Office (7,979) and Mombasa with 5,424 at their Regional Office.
"Beginning Monday 25th September 2023, owners of 87,574 passports that remain uncollected must pick their documents," Kindiki said.
The CS said that the designated collection points will be published in various media outlets and social media platforms.
Going further, Kindki said that every Wednesday, the Immigration Department will publish a list of all applicants whose passports are due for collection the following week.
This according to the CS will help to streamline the collection process.
However, persons who fail to pick up their documents within the stipulated period and at the expiry of the due notice will have their passports disposed of in accordance with the law and penalised when making a future application.
"Delivery of uncollected passports is an integral part of addressing the historical backlog and to avert a recurrence," Kindiki added.
In the meantime, the CS emphasized that the 24-hour shifts in processing and production of passports continue.
Emergency applications for persons seeking medical care abroad, students due for admission to learning institutions outside Kenya and people who have secured job opportunities that have a clear reporting deadline will be processed expeditiously.
Kindiki has been making impromptu visits at Nyayo House, interacting with Kenyans who had come to the offices to process their travel documents.
The Kenyans got a chance to talk to the CS who was on a fact-finding mission to see how things were running since his previous visit.
He has also been holding several meetings on how the Immigration department can fasten and improve the service they offer.
