August 01, Colombo (LNW): Passport issuance will be limited for the next two months as the country prepares for its first issuance of e-passports, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles announced.
He explained that numerous technical and logistical challenges need to be addressed before the e-passports arrive in mid-October, necessitating careful management of the current passport stock.
Despite these limitations, the immigration department continues to issue passports to individuals with urgent travel needs.
Alles highlighted that historically, only 30 per cent of issued passports were used for travel, with the remainder obtained for safekeeping.
Currently, 1,000 passports are being issued daily to meet urgent requirements.
The department aims to commence issuing e-passports by mid-October.
Should the e-passport system not be ready by then, the issuance of regular passports will continue.
