Kenya again extends deadline for biometric passports

Kenyan authorities have pushed back by 12 months the date by which all citizens have to switch to e-passports.

This is the second time the deadline has been extended.

The old passport was initially scheduled to be phased out by 1 September 2019, but this was later pushed back to 1 March 2020.

The Ministry of Interior says the deadline has now been delayed to 1 March 2021 to "enable 1.8 million Kenyans - mostly in the diaspora" who are still holding the old document to replace it.

The government said it had set up passport centres in Dubai, Johannesburg, Berlin, Paris, London and Washington DC to make it simpler for Kenyans living abroad to get e-passports.

It shared a statement explaining the decision to delay the deadline on Twitter:

The government has extended the deadline for voiding the current dark blue machine-readable passport by 12 months.

As such, its holders may continue using it until March 1, 2021 when it will no longer be valid for travelling. pic.twitter.com/os8OlISfG7

— Ministry of Interior (@InteriorKE) February 24, 2020

The government says e-passports are intended to minimise fraud, identity theft, forgery and passport skimming.