Here's why the new identity cards will have an expiry date

Immigration and Citizen service PS Julius Bitok on April 29, 2024. [Edward Kipimo, Standard]

The need to meet International Standards is one of the reasons your national identity card will have an expiry date, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Bitok, has revealed.

He also said that the maisha card has a micro-chip that has a lifespan that after a certain period of time, cannot be clearly readable.

"The International requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is that all our documents, identity documents need to have an expiry date in it, including the driving license, and the passport. All these documents have a duration, we are using the template of international standard," he said yesterday during a stakeholder engagement on the proposed amendments to the two Acts of Parliament; the Birth and Death Act, and the Act for Registration of Persons.

He announced that there will be no mass registration of the Maisha card at the moment, until when the system is stabilised. Bitok said times are changing and there was a need for the regulations to reflect the shift in time and technology.