Getting a passport has always been a nightmare for many Kenyans who want to travel abroad. Until recently, many people have been frustrated at Nyayo House while trying to present their passport application forms. Nowadays, getting a passport is not as cumbersome as in the past. The government has tried to make it easy for citizens to acquire their passports. First, they have added passport collections centres. A person living in Western does not have to travel all the way to Nairobi to pick his or her passport. He or she can get the passport from Kisumu. Secondly, payment for passport services has been automated. People use the ecitizen payment portal. With all these, there are a few things you need to do to get your passport easily.
Apply in a cyber café or at home first
Before you visit immigration offices, apply for the passport at the comfort of your home if you have internet. If you do not have internet, visit a cyber café and make your application. People usually use a lot of money traveling to and from immigration offices only to be told the same thing; apply online. Before starting your application, make sure you have money in your M-pesa account. During the application process, you will be required to pay some application fee via M-pesa. For example, a 32 pages passport will cost you Kshs 4,550. Once your application is done, you will be sent some receipts that you will need to download.
Gather all documents
The next step after a successful online application is to present the forms to the immigration offices. These forms are usually accompanied by other documents like Original birth certificate, photocopies of your Identification card, photocopies of parents/guardian’s identification cards and photocopy of your guarantor’s identification card. Also, you will need to present passport-size photographs. Make sure you carry all these accompanying documents. Some people usually make the mistake of carrying other documents and leaving others. When they reach the immigration offices, they are sent back to go and bring all the documents. To avoid wasting time and money, just gather all documents before you visit immigration offices.
Go to immigration offices early
I do not know about other towns like Kisumu and Mombasa but if you are in Nairobi, please go to the immigration offices as early as possible. Many people are looking for a passport and if you go there late, you will find a mammoth crowd. A long queue. So long that you will give up to try another day. If you do that, you would have wasted your time and money. Also, you will not get your passport very fast. Normally, they say the passport will come out in 14 days but in actual sense, it takes three weeks or even longer. If you are in a hurry to get your passport, just go to the immigration offices very early so that by noon you would be through with the process.
Keep checking the status of the application
Keep on checking on the status of your application. Some people forget about it until several months later. After applying for a passport, keep on checking the status of your application. You can do this either through E-mail or text messages. Immediately you are notified that your passport is ready, go and collect it.