Nairobi — The government has reminded Kenyan passport holders to acquire the new East African Community (EAC) biometric e-passport by November 30, 2022.

Immigration Director General Alexander Muteshi said the phasing out of the old passport is part of Kenya's plan to comply with the 2021 EAC Council meeting that ratified the decision.

"Kenyans are therefore hereby advised to acquire the new passports to avoid any inconveniences," Muteshi said.

Kenya commenced issuing the new East African format e-Passport in September 2017 in line with the digitization of services.

The new E-Systems is aimed at improving efficiency and rid of loopholes and enhancing security a move that is part of Kenya's 2030 vision.

The new biometric passport contains the holder's biodata such as fingerprints, digitally stored photo, and signature among others.

It also contains a biometric identifier.

Further, it has a digital photograph of the holder and security features to prevent unauthorized reading or "scanning" of data stored.

The new EAC travel document comes in red, green, and sky blue --the colors of the EAC flag -- but with text and national emblems, in gold to complete its face.

The color of the passport depends on categories.