Government has announced plans to declare uncollected passports invalid if applicants fail to pick them up within the allotted time frame.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki revealed this decision on Tuesday, reporting that there were currently 87,574 uncollected passports in the system. These uncollected travel documents span a period of three years.
The government intends to enforce this measure by invoking Section 5 of the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act and Section 31 of the Citizenship and Immigration Act.
Kindiki emphasized the importance of passport applicants collecting their documents promptly, stating, “All applicants whose passports are ready must collect them.
Those who do not collect them as scheduled will have their uncollected documents treated as uncollected goods, leading to their withdrawal and disposal at the end of the specified notice period.”
Those failing to collect their passports will need to reapply and pay penalties for new documents. The Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) is set to kick off on September 25, with a 30-day window for passport collection.
Out of the uncollected passports, 36,170 are currently held at Nyayo House, with others distributed across various immigration offices in the country.
To facilitate passport collection, the Ministry will publish the names of individuals required to collect their passports every Wednesday in both mass media and official government websites.
Kindiki also assured the public that efforts were ongoing to address the passport printing backlog, with the Immigration Department working tirelessly on a day-and-night printing schedule until additional equipment is acquired to expedite the process.
Emergency passport applications will continue to be processed within 24 hours, as stated by Kindiki.
