Immigration & Emigration Dept. temporarily halts issuing of passports

The Department of Immigration and Emigration says that the issuing of passports at its offices has been temporarily halted, due to a defect in the computer system of the Immigration and Emigration Department’s offices islandwide.

The department therefore requests those who are with appointments for passports scheduled for tomorrow (Feb. 14) to be called over on February 15, and for all applicants to call over on the next day of their appointment until Friday (Feb. 17).

At the same time, passports of those who had applied for one-day service today (Feb. 13) can be collected after 12 noon tomorrow (Feb. 14).

The department also informs those who are unable to come to the department to collect their passports tomorrow, that they will take measures to deliver the relevant passports to their homes promptly through a courier service.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration stated that the normal services of the department will resume on Monday (Feb. 20).

The issuance of passports through the Immigration and Emigration Department offices islandwide was halted following a defect in the computer system of the department earlier today (Feb. 13).

The defect has taken place as a result of a technical error in the operating systems of the relevant department.