Immigration PS Belio Kipsang Announces Green Service Passport for Public Servants

On Thursday, November 5, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services Belio Kipsang told the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security that the government will introduce a new green-coloured service passport for public servants and state officers travelling abroad on official duties who are not eligible for diplomatic passports.

Kipsang said the passports have already been printed and will be issued once the required regulations are finalised, creating a third tier of official travel documents alongside ordinary and diplomatic passports.

The service passport, previously issued only to members of the disciplined services such as police and military personnel on overseas assignments, will be extended to a broader category of government officials undertaking sanctioned foreign missions.

The announcement was made as the committee considered a petition from the Commission on Administrative Justice, also known as the Office of the Ombudsman, which alleges discrimination in the current diplomatic passport rules that exclude certain constitutional office holders and commissioners of independent commissions.

Committee chair Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo and vice-chair Saku MP Dido Raso questioned whether officials not listed in the 2012 regulations could qualify for diplomatic passports, while Teso North MP Oku Kaunya urged an inclusive review that reflects the constitutional framework.

Kipsang confirmed that Regulation 13 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act permits the Interior Cabinet Secretary to authorise diplomatic passports for individuals outside the specified categories when official duties require it, but stressed the need to protect the document’s integrity and international recognition.

He added that the government is prepared to amend the 2012 rules introduced under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act to align them with the 2010 Constitution and address the concerns raised by the petition.

The statement came days after a Somali national was convicted at the JKIA Law Courts for fraudulently obtaining Kenyan identity documents and a passport, highlighting the importance of robust travel-document controls.