Kenyans living abroad will pay nearly double the amounts fellow
citizens are charged for passports at following the gazettement of new
variated fees for the travel documents.
Interior
cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i set the fees in a January 18 amendment
to the Citizenship and Immigration Regulations.
Kenyans
living in the United States have been hit hardest by the new
regulations that require them to pay twice as much as is charged locally
for a passport.
Previously, the regulations were
silent on fees payable by those applying for passports from embassies
abroad, only setting out one uniform fee structure.
Under the amended regulations, a citizen living in the United
States will pay Sh11,198 ($110) for a 48-page passport and Sh14,252
($140) for a 64-pager almost double the Sh6,000 and Sh7,500 charged in
Kenya respectively.
Kenyans living in the United
Kingdom will pay Sh8,532 (60 British Pounds) for a 48-page passport and
Sh12,799 (90 British Pounds) for a 64-page passport.
Those
applying from mainland Europe will Sh9,383 (75 Euro) for a 48-page
passport while a 64-page passport will cost Sh11,260 (90 Euro).
The
diaspora in Africa, Australia, and Asia will pay the lowest fees at
Sh6,617 ($65) for a 48-page passport and Sh8,144 ($80) for a 64-page
passport.
The
diplomatic corps will pay Sh17,306 and Sh12,799 for passports issued in
the United States and the United Kingdom, in comparison to the Sh7,500
charged locally.
It was not clear why the minister
gazetted these fees as the Ministry of Interior had not responded to
questions on the subject by close of business Friday.
Kenya
has over the past one year been reforming its immigration and
citizenship services, starting with the rollout of e-passports that are
in line with international standards last September.
The
new passports have an embedded chip that carries the bearer’s data and
is more immune to forgery than the “analogue” passports.
The
government has also centralised the printing of passports to Nairobi
but has maintained application and document drop off points across the
country.
A quick survey of Kenya’s embassies in the
United States, France and the United Kingdom indicates that this
centralisation also affects them. Citizens are also expected to apply
for the travel passes online.
A phase-out period will last until next year after which every Kenyan is expected to hold an e-passport.
The
immigration department earlier this month said that it had raised
revenue collection by Sh3.5 billion following the automation of its
services.
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