Online passport application portal to go live by year-end

Guyana’s first online passport application portal is expected to be launched before the end of this year as part of the Government’s wider digital transformation agenda aimed at easing access to services and reducing bureaucracy.
Making the announcement on Tuesday, President Dr Irfaan Ali said the new system will “eliminate the lines that you see at the passport office” by decentralising the process. Under the new arrangement, appointments will be booked online, and applicants will be able to visit the service centre nearest to them, instead of travelling to Georgetown.
The initiative is part of a broader upgrade in border security and document services. Earlier this year, the Government introduced a new border control and e-gate system in January, followed by the e-passport issuance system in February. Both are designed to strengthen security, improve efficiency at airports and border crossings, and align Guyana with international civil aviation standards.
“You have seen that we have been gaining places globally in terms of our passport recognition, and all of this has to do also with the safety mechanism and system that supports our border control or e-gate system. We have to ensure that our system is rigid and strong enough to identify threats and to, in a proactive way, give information to deal with those threats.”
“The e-passport provides Guyanese citizens with a next-generation travel document full of advanced security features and functionalities to facilitate safer and more efficient international travel,” President Ali explained.
Beyond passports, the Government is pressing ahead with plans to digitalise all public services by mid-2026. The President noted that a Chief Technology Officer has already been appointed to oversee the rollout, supported by the National Data Management Authority. The digitalisation framework will focus on artificial intelligence, cross-agency integration, and upgraded ICT infrastructure, with the goal of ensuring greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency.
“All Government services will be on a digital platform by the second quarter of 2026,” Ali stated, pointing to upcoming changes in how citizens apply for documents such as birth and death certificates or even security clearances.
A national survey has also been launched to assess the state of digital readiness in both the public and private sectors, with the aim of ensuring businesses advance in tandem with Government systems. Ali emphasised that this digital shift will also promote financial inclusion, with every citizen expected to have a bank account as part of the wider plan to move towards digital payments and cashless transactions.
“This is one of the most important tech opportunities in our country,” the President said. “It will reduce the time to do business, improve transparency, and transform how citizens interact with the state.”
“All of these systems are actively being migrated to a digital platform. So, commencing this week, a survey is being conducted to gather information on the current state of digitalisation, not only in the Government but also across the private sector, because the private sector will need to also advance at a similar pace in this digital framework. So we have to have a thorough understanding as to what is happening in the private sector also, and how we ensure that in creating this digital space, we have every citizen owning a bank account, for example.”
“And we are moving on a number of options in dealing with this matter, so that if every citizen has their bank account, then the education around using your digital cards, your plastic cards, rather than cheques and moving money, which makes it more transparent and easier to track everything, becomes the gateway of creating peace,” he explained.


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