Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya will begin using national and student identity cards as travel documents for their citizens.

The three countries adopted the use of IDs as travel documents across their borders at an experts meeting in Kigali on December 17.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda are scheduled to officially launch the use of the documents in early 2014 at the Malaba and Katuna borders.

All the three members of the Coalition of the Willing have announced their readiness to implement the use of national and student IDs for Kenya and Rwanda and voters’ cards or students IDs for Uganda.

In the East African Community, only Rwanda and Kenya issue national identity cards. Uganda and Tanzania are in the process of issuing their national identity cards as an EAC requirement.

The three countries have agreed to use machine-readable and electronic national identity cards as travel documents for their nationals who wish to travel across the three countries.

READ: Travelling in the EAC? Just grab your passport, pass or ID

According to the arrangement heads of immigration departments from the three states, are expected to issue a circular to points of entry on January 1, 2014.

“A traveller shall show the national identity, voter’s or student identity cards to both immigration officers and receive the coupon from the immigration officer of the entry country, which allows him or her to proceed with her/his travel. An entry stamp of six months shall be endorsed on the coupon,” reads the experts’ report released after the meeting.

In case the coupon is lost while in the country, the traveller will be required to present him/herself to the nearest immigration office for issuance of another coupon.

“A traveller who uses a partner state as transit, shall present a national ID, voter’s or student card at the common border of partner states and use a standard travel document to exit a partner state for his or her destination, on condition of presenting a coupon from the entry point,” reads the report.