Applicants to now uplift passports in 5 working days

– as Govt addresses 5000+ backlog

Following last week’s intervention by President Dr Irfaan Ali, the Central Immigration and Passport Office will resume processing passports within five working days.
In a statement on Friday, the Home Affairs Ministry said that the backlog of passports had resulted in applicants experiencing delays in uplifting their passports for an undesirable amount of time. However, this lengthy time has been addressed as part of the Head of State’s plan, and steps have been taken to return to the standard passport processing time.
“Commencing from Monday, October 16, 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,” a notice from the ministry detailed.
This move also falls in conjunction with the passport issuance exercise which will commence on Saturday, October 14, at the Central Immigration and Passport Office and the Regional Passport Offices.
Up until recently, there was a backlog of more than 5,700 passports for persons both in Guyana and in the diaspora. Persons seeking a new passport or a renewal have been complaining about the long wait time, as much as two months, to get the important travel document.
In light of these complaints, President Ali last week committed to clear the backlog within a one-week period.
“We have a backlog of about 5,300 plus passports… So, I have brought together the team and they are working now in a concerted way, 24-hour shifts, to have this entire backlog [cleared],” he noted during a live broadcast on October 6.
The backlog comprised some 5,302 outstanding passports within Guyana and another 400 plus applications from the Guyanese Diaspora.
Moreover, the Guyanese leader also used the opportunity to implore citizens to make use of their regional passport offices in order to further reduce the burden and backlog at the central office.
In recent years, the Guyana Government has moved to decentralise passport services with the establishment of offices in various regions across the country.
At the Central Passport Office in Georgetown, there are currently over 4,000 passports in the backlog. In Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), there are about 900 outstanding passports; at Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), there are another 90o plus passports; at Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), there are just over 100 passports; at Parika, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), there are about 45 passports and at Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), there are some five passports in the backlog.
There are also passport offices at Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and at Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
While the government as now purchased “a lot of passports” back into the system, the backlog was mostly caused by global supply chain issues stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In fact, the Guyana Police Force, through the Central Immigration and Passport Office, in June 2022 had disclosed that its operations have been affected by a delay in the shipment of materials used to print passports.
Then in September 2022, President Ali announced that the Government had ordered some 80,000 new passports to meet both local and diaspora demands.
Only recently, the Home Affairs Ministry had announced that passport offices throughout Guyana will be opened on Saturdays to address the backlog.
For the Regional Passport Offices, passports are available to be uplifted for various periods.
These include Anna Regina- From October 16 to October 25, 2023; Parika- From October 16 to December 18, 2023; New Amsterdam/Springlands – From October 16 to December 11, 2023; Bartica- From October 16 to December 12, 2023; Lethem – From October 16 to October 30, 2023 and Linden – From October 16 to November 02, 2023.
In addition, a weekly announcement will be published notifying the public of the dates and times for the Central Immigration and Passport Office.
“Check your white slips for your return date; this will indicate which Saturday you should visit the Passport office,” the GPF explained. Moreover, the normal passport and immigration services will be available from Monday to Friday.