Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Kenyan passport

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Issued by
  
Kenya

Purpose
  
Identification

Type of document
  
Passport

Eligibility requirements
  
Kenyan citizenship

Kenyan passport

The Kenyan passport is issued by the Department of Immigration to citizens of Kenya for international travel. The department is under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.

Contents

Types of passports

There are three types of passports:

  • Diplomatic (maroon cover): Issuable to Kenyan diplomats accredited overseas and their eligible dependents and to citizens who reside in the Republic of Kenya and travel abroad for diplomatic work. Period of validity: generally 10 years from the date of issue.
  • Ordinary (navy blue cover): Issuable to Kenyan citizens while travelling abroad, valid for 10 years.
  • East African passport (light blue cover): Issuable to Kenyans for international travel within the East African Community, valid for six months and usable for multiple entry into Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.

    • Appearance

    Kenyan passports have the Kenyan coat of arms emblazoned in gold in the centre of the front cover. "REPUBLIC OF KENYA" is inscribed in gold text above the coat of arms, while "PASSPORT" is inscribed in gold text below it. The back cover is left blank.

    The passport note occupies the first page of the passport, and the particulars page occupies the last. The identity information page is printed on the inside of the passport's back cover, while the person's particulars and signature are on the next-to-last page. The pages of Kenyan passports are watermarked with the Kenyan coat of arms. The pages feature designs with the 'big five game' animals commonly found in Kenyan national parks and reserves: the lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo.

    The inside front cover of the passport reads first in Swahili:

    Hati hii ni ya kuwaomba na kuwasihi kwa jina la Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya, wote wanaohusika, kwa kusudi wamruhusu mwenye hati hii kuendelea bila shida ama kizuizi, tena kumsaidia na kumhifadhi kwa kadiri anavyohitaji.

    And the translation in English:

    This document is to urge and exhort you by the President of the Republic of Kenya, all involved, in order to allow him to continue with this document without difficulty or hindrance, and help to keep him as far as he needs.

    Application process

    In order to apply for a passport, one would need:

  • Documentary evidence of Kenyan citizenship in the form of a birth certificate and national identity card, plus details and identity card of parent(s).
  • In case of previous citizenship to another country, a Certificate of Naturalization or Registration and Renunciation Certificate of former citizenship.
  • Passport size photographs
  • A recommendation from a Minister of Religion, a Legal Practitioner, an established Civil Servant or Bank Official personally acquainted with the applicant, but not by immediate relatives, plus the recommender's ID card.
  • Parents' or legal guardians' written consent, in the case of an applicant who is below the age of eighteen years

    • References

    Kenyan passport Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA