Old passports phased out

THE Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration has announced that the old, handwritten passports will be phased out from today.

The old passports will not be renewed any more but replaced by machine-readable passports to curb fraud and forgery. The ministry has also invested in more computers and manpower, which it says will enable it to issue passports within 10 days after application from the beginning of April.People applying for passports should take note that they now have to bring along not only certified copies of the birth certificates, Namibian citizenship documents and identity documents, but also the originals.This is a further attempt to curb fraud and falsification of passports.The Ministry is also requesting applicants who applied for passports before January this year to come and collect them.An information and enquiries desk has been established at the Ministry’s head office, where people can enquire about their national documents.The desk can be contacted at the following telephone numbers: (061) 292 2201 and (061) 292 2204.Other enquiries concerning the Ministry’s operations can be directed to the Public Relations Officer at tel.(061) 292 2068, or e-mail khengari@mha.gov.na or information@mha.gov.naThe ministry has also invested in more computers and manpower, which it says will enable it to issue passports within 10 days after application from the beginning of April.People applying for passports should take note that they now have to bring along not only certified copies of the birth certificates, Namibian citizenship documents and identity documents, but also the originals.This is a further attempt to curb fraud and falsification of passports.The Ministry is also requesting applicants who applied for passports before January this year to come and collect them.An information and enquiries desk has been established at the Ministry’s head office, where people can enquire about their national documents.The desk can be contacted at the following telephone numbers: (061) 292 2201 and (061) 292 2204.Other enquiries concerning the Ministry’s operations can be directed to the Public Relations Officer at tel.(061) 292 2068, or e-mail khengari@mha.gov.na or information@mha.gov.na