The government apologizes for the “Ksh.1 million error” in the notice regarding the costs of applying for a new ID and passport.
With the publication of a Gazette Notice stating that the processing costs for children of Kenyan nationals born abroad to get permanent residency had increased to Ksh. 1 million, Principal Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu apologized publicly.
A contentious public discussion was sparked by the notice, which stated that the processing fees for permanent residences for children of Kenyan citizens born outside of Kenya had doubled to Ksh. 200,000, while the fees for issuing permanent residences for the same children had increased to Ksh. 1,000,000 from Ksh. 500,000.
Njogu responded to the cited sums in a message posted on social networking site X, stating that they were entered incorrectly.
She also mentioned that she had brought up the matter with Immigration PS Julius Bitok, who she claims verified the same.
The children of foreigners applying for permanent residency, not Kenyans, are covered by the absurd sums, she continued.
“In response to my previous tweet, Julius Bitok of Immigration PS has been contacted.”
The Permanent Residence costs for children of Kenyan nationals were submitted incorrectly, he has assured me,” the PS stated.
“Children of foreign nationals applying for PR must pay this charge. As previously stated, citizenship is conferred upon offspring of citizens at birth.”
This criterion would have been unlawful because the Kenyan Constitution states in Article 14 (1) that “A person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person’s birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen.”
The Foreign Affairs CS went on to say that steps had already been made to correct the misleading inaccuracy.
“I apologize for the error that has created such worry,” she stated.