State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok has revealed why the department proposed increasing the rate of birth and death certificate issuance from Sh50 to Sh200.
In March, the Ministry of Interior effected the revised amounts for various services offered by the State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services.
PS Bitok said the rate of inflation in the country occasioned an increase in the amount by Sh150.
He said that the rates of birth and death certificate issuance were last reviewed 36 years ago, adding that times have changed.
“The amount that affects the majority of people is that one of 200. We increased from Sh50 to Sh200, but the last time it was done was 36 years ago. We proposed to increase to Sh200 because of the cost of materials, inflation, and the times have changed because 35 years is a long time,” Bitok said.
The PS added that the amount applies to all Kenyans seeking birth and death certificates.
He spoke on Wednesday during the monthly PSs meeting at the Bomas of Kenya.
In a memo dated February 29, 2024, the Interior Ministry indicated that the revision follows the completion of the public participation process, which was conducted from November 14 to December 5, 2023.
The new fees and levies were reviewed on November 14, 2023, vide a gazette notice No. 24.
Late registration of birth certificate was increased from Sh150 to Sh500, the same as late registration of death.
The Ministry also increased fees for re-registration of birth from Sh90 to Sh1,000 and fees for registration of births in foreign missions were increased from $50 (Sh7,225) to $150 (Sh21,675).
The same amount applied to the registration of death at Kenyan foreign missions.
Charges for amendments to both birth and death certificates were increased from Sh130 to Sh1,000 while fees for a certificate for a person presumed dead were increased from Sh150 to Sh1,500.
Meanwhile, the ministry introduced new charges for the verification of certificates for government agencies and pegged it at Sh500 while it set the fees for the acquisition of vital statistical reports for private agencies at Sh2,000.
The State, however, pegged the fees for access to vital statistical reports for the government at Sh1,000.
A new charge of $100 (Sh14,450) was also introduced for verification of the certificate of private foreign agencies while the charges for the same service for private Kenyan agencies were set at $1,000 (Sh144,500).
.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)