Nyeri, Malindi to Get Passport Registration Centres as Government Expands Services
Murkomen made the announcement on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, following a high-level meeting with officials from the Directorate of Immigration Services.
Nyeri and Malindi are set to join the list of Kenyan towns offering full passport registration services as the government moves to decentralise immigration services across the country. Photo: Mwakilishi.com
By Robert Mutasi
Nyeri and Malindi are set to join the list of Kenyan towns offering full passport registration services as the government moves to decentralise immigration services across the country.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government was making progress in establishing passport registration centres in the two towns to bring the services closer to residents.
Murkomen made the announcement on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, following a high-level meeting with officials from the Directorate of Immigration Services.
He said the planned centres in Nyeri and Malindi were steadily taking shape and would eventually offer services similar to those available at existing regional passport offices.
“We are well on course with the decentralisation of passport issuance, bringing this crucial document closer to where citizens live,” Murkomen said.
The Interior CS said the government currently operates regional passport offices in Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kericho, Embu, Bungoma, Kisii, Nakuru and Garissa.
Malindi and Nyeri will become the latest additions once their offices are fully equipped and operational.
The two towns already provide some immigration services. However, residents seeking passports have previously had to travel to Nairobi for key stages of the application process, including biometric capture and other processing requirements.
Murkomen said the government would upgrade the existing immigration offices in Nyeri and Malindi to provide full passport registration services.
The expansion is expected to ease the burden on residents who have been travelling long distances to access passport services. It could also reduce pressure on Nairobi offices, which handle applications from people across the country.
The move comes as the government continues to expand access to immigration services outside the capital.
Eldoret is among the towns that have benefited from the decentralisation programme, providing residents in the North Rift with an alternative to travelling to Nairobi for passport-related services.
The government is also pursuing reforms at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to improve the movement of travellers through the country’s main international gateway.
Murkomen said the government was continuing with the installation of electronic gates, commonly known as E-gates, at JKIA.
The system is intended to speed up passenger processing and reduce queues at immigration points as the number of travellers using the airport continues to grow.
“Our other reforms include the ongoing installation of E-gates at JKIA to facilitate faster processing of travellers,” Murkomen said.
The meeting also addressed the government’s labour migration programme.
The National Employment Authority has been granted a desk at the Immigration offices in Nairobi to facilitate the processing of Kenyans participating in the government’s job export programme.
The arrangement is expected to improve coordination between immigration officials and the employment authority as more Kenyans seek employment opportunities abroad.
The expansion of passport registration centres, together with reforms at JKIA, forms part of wider efforts by the government to modernise immigration services and make them more accessible to citizens.
Once the Nyeri and Malindi centres become fully operational, residents in the two regions will have access to passport registration and biometric services closer to home, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming trips to Nairobi.
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