The Ministry of Interior and National Administration is setting its sights on further reducing passport processing times, aiming to cut the current seven-day turnaround to just three days.

This ambitious target emerged during a briefing by the Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen at Nyayo House, where he held an inaugural meeting with heads of institutions under the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services.

The session was led by PS) Prof. Julius Bitok and other senior officials.

Murkomen lauded the department’s recent progress, which he attributed to reforms initiated by Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki during his tenure as Interior CS.

"It now takes 7 days to process a passport down from 30 days 2 years ago. Labour migrants get their passports in 3 days," Murkomen stated, expressing satisfaction with the improved service delivery timelines.

Read More

  1. Millions left stranded as the eCitizen payment platform experiences outage
  2. Most Kenyans have confidence in DP Kithure Kindiki leadership - Politrack Africa survey
  3. Ruto directs funding for transferred county functions in next fiscal year

The CS further noted the substantial efforts made to streamline immigration services.

"I’m very happy that the department has done a lot of work to make sure that we serve Kenyans expeditiously and transparently," he said, highlighting the recruitment of additional staff and the expansion of workspace.

According to Murkomen, the ongoing digitisation drive under the e-Citizen platform has been a game changer, with over 21,589 government services onboarded by December 2024—far exceeding the initial target of 5,000.

He applauded the turnaround in other government services but stressed the need for continued investment in staff training, infrastructure, decentralisation, and funding to enhance efficiency further.

“We will work to resolve outstanding issues such as training, infrastructure, decentralisation, staffing and funding to improve efficiency even further,” the CS affirmed.

The department’s reforms are expected to benefit Kenyans seeking crucial documents for work and travel, with labour migrants currently receiving expedited passport processing within three days.

The government remains committed to delivering faster, transparent, and citizen-focused services to all.