- The government has since explained that the delays are due to a breakdown of the Passport Lamination Machine.
- The documents are for purposes of travel outside country of asylum apart from country of origin.
The Department of Refugee Services is experiencing delays in printing Conventional Travel Documents, it has emerged.
The department has since explained that the delays are due to a breakdown of the Passport Lamination Machine.
“The government is swiftly procuring a new machine to resume printing soon. We appreciate your patience,” the Department of Refugee Services said on X.
Convention Travel Documents are blue in colour and resemble a passport in size and shape, with the words “Travel Document (Convention 28 July 1951) written in English and French on the cover.
The inside lists personal details and holds a photograph of the bearer and contains visa pages.
Manual Conventional Travel Documents have been issued by the government with a validity of five years.
The documents are for purposes of travel outside the country of asylum apart from the country of origin.
They are renewable upon expiry however, an invitation for travel is required for renewal.
The delays in printing Conventional Travel Documents come as the government announced it has acquired two new passport printing machines to ease issuance of the crucial travel documents.
The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Service on Monday said the arrival of the machines will resolve issues that previously hindered the application and issuance of new passports.
Principal Secretary of the Department of Immigration Julius Bitok said processes have been streamlined to ensure faster generation of travel documents.
The new passport printing machines will be producing 600 copies per hour. Bitok said Kenyans will be able to get their travel documents within 14 working days.
Passport documents are usually printed outside the country for security reasons leaving only the applicant’s Bio-data page to be printed locally upon application.
Bitok also revealed that the government is in the process of establishing additional centres across the country to further facilitate passport issuance.