Doha, Qatar: Mobile consular services (MCS) to help Kenyan expatriates acquire basic documents were launched at the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Doha yesterday.
Kenyan Ambassador to Qatar H E Boniface Mwilu urged Kenyans who don’t have the new generation passports and Kenyan national identification cards to make use of this service available until July 2, 2023.
The four-day exercise is being facilitated by the State Department for Diaspora Affairs spearheaded by the Director of Diaspora and Consular Affairs at Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs, Ambassador Washington Oloo.
The services to be offered will include applications for new passports and identification cards, renewal of old generation passports and identification cards, and issuance of birth certificates. Other services are replacement of lost and mutilated identification cards as well as change of particulars.
Speaking at the launch of the service, Ambassador Mwilu thanked the State Department for Diaspora Affairs for bringing a delegation to Qatar from Nairobi.
He said: “We want to urge Kenyans in Qatar to make use of this service because it has been brought closer to them. The government of Kenya has put this service in place to ensure that Kenyans in Diaspora have basic documents and make sure that their documents are up-to-date.” The envoy said that there are many Kenyans who still hold the old generation passports, and this would be a great opportunity for them to acquire the new ones.
It is worth noting that the old generation passport (dark blue) was phased out and Kenyans can apply for the East African Community (EAC) biometric e-passport during this exercise.
For his part, Ambassador Oloo said that the government of Kenya has launched this service worldwide to enable Kenyans to acquire the important documents without having to travel back home.
“We are happy to support all Kenyans and we hope that this will be a continuous exercise to make sure that every Kenyan has the basic documents. Our delegation from Kenya as well as the embassy officials are available to provide all the support that you may need,” Ambassador Oloo said, adding that the exercise targets 60,000 Kenyans across Qatar.
So far, the exercise has taken place in Oman, UAE, US, Canada, and Australia, and currently going on in Ireland, New Zealand, and Cuba.
However, for the passport application, one needs to fill an online application form at the eCitizen portal and provide the payment invoice to the officials. The applicant will also need a copy of Kenyan identification card, original and copy of the passport bio data page, copies of parents’ identification cards as well as two passport size photographs on a white background.
