The government has revised fees for IDs, Passports and Work Permits effective Jan 2024, with the public participation set for Dec 10, 2023.
The review follows a public uproar protesting the increased levies, citing the already high cost of living attributed to raised taxes to generate revenue.
In a gazette notice dated November 14 by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, Kenyans seeking to acquire a new ID must now pay Kes 300 and not Kes 1,000 in the new proposal.
Further, those seeking to replace their IDs will now have to pay Kes 1,000, revised downwards from Kes 2,000 in the revoked gazette notice.
“The new intended charges, fees and levies have been adjusted to accommodate views of the public already received following the publication of the revoked Gazette Notices,” he said.
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Further, Kindiki said the government will cushion poor Kenyans who intend to acquire IDs for the first time.
“On the particular issue of acquisition of National Identity Cards by previously not registered citizens, the Government shall defray the costs of the revised charges, fees and levies through a waiver for indigent Kenyans who demonstrate inability to pay,” noted Kindiki.
With public participation set to commence, Kindiki expressed that the revised charges are not punitive but aimed at increasing revenue collection to deal with the ballooning debt.
In the revised charges, a 34-page ordinary passport, which used to cost Kes 4,500, will now cost Kes 7, 500 while a 50-page ordinary passport will now cost Kes 9,500, up from Kes 6,000.
For a lost passport, Kenyans must now part with Kes 20,000, up from the previous Kes 12,000.
The cost of replacing a valid mutilated passport has doubled from Kes 10,000 to Kes 20,000.
