The publishing of a Gazette Notice indicating that payments for the processing of permanent residencies for children of Kenyan citizens born outside the nation had increased prompted Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu to issue an apology on Wednesday.

The notification stated that the charge had risen to Sh1 million.

Fees for processing permanent residences for children of Kenyan citizens born outside of Kenya had doubled to Sh200,000, while the fees for issuing permanent residences for the same children had increased to Sh1 million from Sh500,000. The notice sparked a contentious public debate.

Njogu explained that the cited sums were incorrectly entered in in a message posted on social networking platform X. She also mentioned that she has since brought up the matter with Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, who she claimed verified the same.

She clarified that the sums do not apply to Kenyans, but rather to children of foreigners applying for permanent residence.

Njogu said the condition would have been illegal because “A person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person’s birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen.” This is stated in Article 14 (1) of the Kenyan Constitution.

She stated that steps had already been taken to correct the misleading inaccuracy.

The government raised a number of fees, which infuriated a lot of people on social media.

For example, the price of a new passport will increase from Sh4,500 to Sh7,500 for 34 pages, from Sh6,500 to Sh9,500 for 50 pages, and from Sh7,500 to Sh12,500 for 66 pages.

She stated that steps had already been taken to correct the misleading inaccuracy.

The government raised a number of fees, which infuriated a lot of people on social media.

For example, the price of a new passport will increase from Sh4,500 to Sh7,500 for 34 pages, from Sh6,500 to Sh9,500 for 50 pages, and from Sh7,500 to Sh12,500 for 66 pages.