Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has revealed that going forward, national IDs will be out in 10 days and not the current 21 days.

Prof Bitok was speaking at Katoloni Scouts Centre in Machakos on Monday during the International Identity Day where he encouraged the youth to register their details and get their third generation identity cards in 10 days.

He added that passports would also be out in seven days while birth certificates would only take a day and those seeking to replace or renew their IDs would now be getting the third generation ID.

High number of youths

Bitok said the government would achieve this feat by deploying live capture equipment in Huduma Centres and National Registration Bureau (NRB) offices across the country.

In addition, NRB’s printing capacity will be enhanced following the recent acquisition of two new printers.

“It will now take no more than ten working days from the date of application, down from the previous 21 days, to get your ID. We want Kenyans to acquire their IDs as quickly and conveniently as possible,” said Bitok.

Bitok said they chose to celebrate the International Identity Day in Machakos because of the high number of youths, at 32,000, who have cleared secondary education and were eligible to register and pick IDs.

He highlighted that Maisha number would incorporate modern technology and has supporting features such as Unique Personal Identity (UPI), Maisha Digital Identity and Maisha number database.