Kenyan passport

Kenyan passport
The front cover a contemporary Kenyan passport.
Issued by	Kenya
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Kenyan citizenship

The Kenyan passport is issued to citizens of Kenya for international travel by the Department of Immigration, which is under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.^[1]

Types of passports

There are three types of passports:

Cover of a diplomatic passport

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.^[2]

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:

These are to request and require in the Name of the President of Kenya all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford him or her every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need."

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

See also

• List of passports
• Visa requirements for Kenyan citizens

References