Outrage after government hike ID, passport application and replacement fees
Suffering and impoverished Kenyans will dig deeper into their pockets to acquire basic identification documents after the government revised passport fees alongside identity card application and replacement fees and increased charges in all the categories.
A gazette notice dated November 7, 2023 by the Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki indicated that the ordinary passport (34 pages) will now cost Sh7500 from Sh4,500.
A diplomatic passport of 50 pages will now cost Sh15,000 from the previous Sh7,500.
Kenyans seeking to replace a valid mutilated passport will now inquire a cost of Sh20,000 from the previous Sh10, 000.
Those replacing their lost passport will also pay Sh20,000 which previously being charged at Sh10, 000.
“Pursuant to Regulation 60 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations 2015, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning has granted the Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary the Authority for the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services to revise Charges and levies on its services.” The gazette notice reads in part.
Notably, Kenyans were previously paying Sh100 to apply for duplicate Identification cards and no charges for registration of a new ID but now they will need to pay sh. 1000 to change the details of an ID and Sh1,000 to make an identification report from the previous sh.1000.
The Gazette notice also indicated that fees for the processing of permanent residences for children of Kenyan citizens born outside Kenya had doubled to Sh200,000 while the fees for the issuance of permanent residences for the same children had increased to Sh1 million from Sh500,000.
However, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu issued a public apology over the release of a Gazette Notice which reported that fees for the processing of permanent residences for children of Kenyan citizens born outside the country had increased.
“I have engaged with PS Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok
He has assured me that the Permanent Residence fees for children of Kenyan citizens were entered in error. This fee applies to children of foreigners seeking PR. As I had explained, the children of a citizen acquire citizenship by birth. Measures to rectify the Gazette notice have already been taken. Apologies for the mistake that has caused so much anxiety,” She wrote on her X (Formerly Twitter) handle.
The increase in the various charges has spurred a debate online on various platforms with Kenyans expressing their disappointment.
