Dept. of Immigration face uphill task to meet demand for passports

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama  

Passports will not be issued for every application that is  received at the department on a daily basis, as there is an unusual  demand for passports from the end of April, the Immigration and  Emigration Department said.  

They said the maximum number of passports that could be issued under one-day service is 2,500.   Meanwhile, the Department’s Deputy Controller and Media  Spokesperson Piyumi Bandara said some 288,645 people had processed their  passports during the first five months of this year. She said there  were 382,506 passports had been issued during the last year (2021).  

In the face of the economic crisis in the country, many  people are seeking overseas jobs, and as a result, more and more people  are thronging at the Dept’s office every day to obtain their travel  documents.  
“52,278 passports were issued in January this year; 55,381  in February, 74,890 in March, 53,151 passports in April, and 52,945 in  May.   

“As the requirements became extraordinarily higher, the  officials at the department are finding it difficult to process  passports,” she said.  

Therefore, she appealed to the aspirants to visit the department after making a prior appointment.  
Consequently, 1,500 passports could be issued daily, and  the people who don’t reserve date and time too are queuing at the  department.  

One-day passport issuing will only take place at the Immigration Department Head Office in Battaramulla.   
She said documents required to obtain a passport under  normal service can be obtained at Matara, Kurunegala, Kandy and Vavuniya  offices in addition to the head office, she said.