See full statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs:
For some time, the Central Immigration and Passport Office has been experiencing a backlog of passports, resulting in applicants experiencing delays in uplifting their passports for an undesirable amount of time. However, as part of H.E President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s initiative, the issue has been addressed and steps have been taken to return to the standard passport processing time.
Commencing from Monday, October 16th, 2023, the standard processing time of five (5) working days is back in effect. This means that applicants can expect to receive their passports in the standard processing time of five (5) working days for first-time applications and renewals at a cost of G$6,000 and within seventy-two hours (72hrs) for the expedited service at an additional cost of G$20,000.
This also falls in conjunction with the passport issuance exercise which will commence on Saturday, October 14th, 2023, at the Central Immigration and Passport Office and the Regional Passport Offices.
