NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 21 — Passport applicants seeking to upgrade their passport applications to 50-page series can now do so on the eCitizen portal and monitor the status of the travel documents through an SMS code.
Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said Thursday that all inquiries on the status of applications will channeled to the SMS code 22222 to decongest passport centres.
“Applicants with pending applications and those who are yet to collect their passports can track the status of their applications by sending an SMS with their eCitizen application reference code to 22222,” he announced.
Bitok urged applicants with priority cases to consider upgrading their applications to 50-page passport series and capitalize on available booklets.
“Applicants with pending 34-page passports who have an urgent need to travel are advised to upgrade their applications to the 50-page booklet through the eCitizen portal. No physical visit to Immigration offices is necessary to apply for the upgrade,” he stated.
Bitok, who received an additional 112,700 passport booklets including 92,500 50-pager series, promised sustained efforts to enhance efficiency at passport centres.
The PS said additional booklets, including the 34-page (A-series) will arrive in the country in April.
He also announced the installation of additional servers to support passport operations and ensure a seamless user experience.
Bitok announced the planned commissioning of two new passport printers procured under a comprehensive infrastructural upgrade initiative.