Mandatory online appointment system for passport applications begins Oct 1

The government has announced that, effective October 1, all passport applications must be submitted online, as offices nationwide will no longer accept walk-ins.

“We will no longer accept persons at any of the passport offices with persons walking in with their application. So, you will now only be dealt with by an appointment,” Deputy Chief Immigration Officer, Stephen Telford, said in a video uploaded to social media on Thursday.

This mandatory online appointment system takes effect several months after some immigration services went digital. The online system had been operating alongside the traditional walk-in process. However, according to Telford, transitioning to a fully online system will help streamline passport applications and improve efficiency nationwide.

“That in itself allows you the applicant, in the application process, to choose which one of the passport offices you want to do your application, at a date and a time that is convenient to you,” he noted.

The country’s online passport application went online on June 15, in a move that is expected to significantly reduce waiting times, improve efficiency and provide citizens with greater convenience when applying for passports.

In fact, authorities reported that passport processing times have been reduced to three working days, while expedited applications can be completed within 24 hours and in exceptional circumstances, even sooner.

These interventions build on a series of reforms that have transformed immigration services in Guyana. In addition to online passport applications, immigration services have embraced digital travel processing through the introduction of the electronic embarkation and disembarkation form and automated e-gates at ports of entry.

Reports are that the e-form allows travellers to complete immigration requirements up to 30 days before travel, while e-gates have reduced processing times for eligible passengers to as little as 15 seconds.