Countries within the Schengen Area will not accept visa applications by Kenyans using the old passports and will instead accept only those using the new East African Community biometric e-Passport as from June 1 2019.
In a notice posted on the website of the German Mission to Kenya, the Schengen Member States take note of an announcement by the Kenyan government that all Kenyan passports, except the new East African Community biometric e-Passport, will be rendered invalid from September 1 2019.
Schengen laws demand passports must still be valid at least 90 days after the end of the validity of a given visa.
“According to Article 12 (a) of the Regulation (EC) No.810/2009, commonly known as “Visa Code”, the validity of a travel document shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Schengen Member States,” the notice said.
Schengen, the largest free travel area in the world, refers to the EU passport-free zone that consists of 26 European countries. Some of them include: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any members of the Schengen Area, per stays up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes.
The Schengen visa is the most common visa for Europe.
