It Will Now Take Just 2–3 Days to Get a Passport, Says President Ruto

Kenya Cuts Passport Processing Time to 72 Hours, Ruto Says

The government has reduced the time it takes to apply for a passport to between two and three days, President William Ruto announced on Saturday, March 28.

Addressing the Ambassadors and High Commissioners' Conference at Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC), the President said the move targets Kenyans seeking employment abroad, ending long delays in obtaining crucial travel documents.

“Today, we have a clean channel for people to get jobs abroad. If you have a job abroad, it now takes 2–3 days to get your passport,” Ruto said.

The official eCitizen portal, used to apply and renew passports, still lists processing times of 10 working days for first-time applicants and 5 working days for renewals, according to a spot check by The Hourly Newswave

Two new high-speed passport printers have been installed, capable of producing over 10,000 passports daily double the country’s average demand.

A person receiving their passport at the Garissa Immigration Office, December 29,

When President Ruto took office in 2022, passport applications could take anywhere from 72 hours to three weeks after document submission and biometric capture. Backlogs exceeding 700,000 often stretched processing times to several months.

Despite the President’s announcement, as of March 2026, many applicants report receiving passports within 7 to 10 days, with some still facing delays booking biometric appointments at popular centers such as Nyayo House.

Ruto said the streamlined system has helped Kenya export more than 540,000 workers for jobs abroad.

The Kenyan passport has also gained global recognition, rising to 64th position on the Henley Passport Index, up from 73rd in late 2025. In Africa, it ranks 9th to 10th most powerful and remains the strongest in East Africa, surpassing Tanzania (65th) and Uganda (71st) in global mobility.