Immigration Dept stops using photos from private photographers

As one of way of reducing cases of passport applicants being duped by unscrupulous people, central region immigration office said it will no longer allow acquisition of passport forms using photos taken outside their offices.

Principal Immigration Officer Patrick Ng’ombe said this when he briefed applicants about some developments regarding passport processing.

Services on Wednesday delayed for more than two hours as immigration officers were locked in a meeting to address challenges that applicants were facing in acquiring the document.

Ng’ombe told the gathering that the office will no longer entertain the use of photos taken outside the offices and it will instead offer indoor photographic services at a fee of K 1,000.

“The department has taken this move after observing that there were increased cases of people being cheated and robbed of their money by some people who pretend to be immigration officers,’said Ng’ombe.

According to him, the department intends to spread messages about the new development through mainstream media and appealed to the gathering to help in disseminating the message to potential applicants.

The new development comes as a big blow to photographic businesses that provide passport photos near the immigration offices.

“This is a sad development because he earns his living through this business,’ said one of the photographers.

Meanwhile, the regional office has revealed that it has resumed the issuance of passports within 21 days after application as his office has enough materials for passport processing.

Previously, some applicants had to wait for a long time to get their passports because of shortage of processing materials like passport books.