New Kenyan consulate in Los Angeles to offer e-passport services

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25-Kenya is set to establish a consulate in Los Angeles, United States, after the government approval.

This means Kenyans living in the United States will now be able to renew their passports at the new consulate.

“The Kenya Consulate in Los Angeles has been approved by the Government to process the new generation passports. As we embark on the process of setting up the infrastructure, we call on Kenyans to be patient, as you will be advised on when the e-passport system in LA is up and running,” the Kenyan embassy in Washington DC said in a statement.

This will be a relieve for Kenyans living in western parts of the US as they have in the past year been forced to travel to the DC for the services.

Other than LA, Kenyans in diaspora can get similar services in Riyadh, Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, London, Dubai and Johannesburg.

In the country, the government has since set up and operationalized four passport control centres in Nakuru, Kisii, Eldoret and Embu.

The government has extended the deadline to phase out old passports to December 2021.

The new e-passport was launched in 2017, but the rollout has been faced by a myriad of challenges.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i extended the deadline to December 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The government has been in the process of phasing out the old-generation passports as part of the binding commitment made to migrate to the new East African Community biometric e-passport. For the avoidance of doubt, starting January 1, 2022, the old dark blue passport will be null and void and no Kenyan will be able to travel internationally without a valid East African Community biometric e-passport,” the CS said.