Receiving my ID and what I would do differently
What came back by post and the things I wish I had known earlier.
Prefer the short version? Read the step-by-step checklist for the documents and official links.
My Kenyan ID arrived in the prepaid return envelope I had taken to the High Commission. The same envelope also contained returned documents and paperwork relating to my dual-citizenship declaration.
That is why I have given the envelope its own space in this collection. It was a small part of the preparation, but it had a clear purpose: getting the result of the application back to me.
What came back
I received acknowledgement and paperwork relating to the declaration as well as the ID. I would want to check the exact wording of those papers before describing precisely what each one confirmed. An acknowledgement of an application and confirmation of its outcome are different things.
My documents came back together. I would not assume that another person’s ID and citizenship paperwork will be returned in the same delivery, or use my recollection to promise a processing time.
If I needed to follow up now, I would use the High Commission’s contact page (opens in a new tab), with the relevant application details to hand.
What I would do differently
There are three things I wish I had understood sooner.
First, I would have looked into the citizenship paperwork at the start. Discovering the declaration later meant there was another step to understand before I could finish preparing for the ID appointment.
Second, I would have found out earlier who could witness the declaration. Knowing that I needed to take it unsigned, sign in front of the solicitor and have it stamped would have made the preparation simpler. I would also confirm the number of witnessed copies before the visit.
Third, I would have gathered the older passport records sooner. Having been included on a parent’s passport as a child meant some useful evidence was in an older family document. That was easy to overlook when thinking mainly about the passport I use now.
For my records, I would keep scans of the completed paperwork, receipts and returned documents in a private folder. I would also keep the original papers somewhere safe, so a future application does not begin with trying to reconstruct this one.
Why it mattered to me
Getting the ID was a practical step towards the things I want to do in Kenya. I want to travel home with the right Kenyan documents, and I want the option of buying property and investing in the country’s economy. Those plans are easier to begin when I have given my own paperwork some attention.
It also mattered because I am Kenyan. Living in the UK and being British are parts of my life too, and I want to make room for both. Sorting out the ID gave me a concrete way to act on that.
I am sharing the process because the declaration, the solicitor and the older documents were things I would have found useful to read about beforehand. If this account helps someone know what to ask and where to check, it has done what I hoped it would do.