IT’S good to hear that the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration is working hard to improve passport services.
This comes after the delay in the printing of passports which caused so much frustration amongst Solomon Islanders, especially those wanting to go for seasonal work in Australia and New Zealand.
There are cases of people who have applied last year finally receiving their passports in this first quarter of 2023.
In the past weeks, the Passport Unit has been busy printing all the outstanding passport applications from last year.
As of this week, passport applications from February, March and April are now being screened and printed.
So, thank you for the good work!
Each working day, our citizens, especially those wanting to travel overseas for studies, holiday, sports, medical treatment and work continue to lodge in their applications.
Moreover, the demand for passport continues to surge as more and more Solomon Islanders have their eyes on the Labour Mobility Scheme.
In order to be eligible for recruitment, applicants must have a passport.
And because of this requirement, citizens flock to the Immigration Office each day to apply for e-passports.
Right now, passport is currently one of the country’s top revenue earners.
For this year alone, the government expects to earn $2.4milllion from the expected 12,000 passports procured.
So far, 7000 passport books have been procured and only 2000 booklets are still available. The current stock is expected to run out soon.
A further 5000 passport booklets will be procured in June this year.
And with this huge return from passports, the government should invest more in improving its services in the country.
Remember, this country’s population growth rate is one of the fastest in the world and more and more citizens are expected to travel overseas.
The delay in printing passports had created so much inconvenience and frustration to those wanting to go overseas for studies, medical treatment, sports and for other purposes.
In the past week, there were reports of athletes having missed out their overseas sporting engagement which should be a matter of concern to the government as the country prepares to host the Pacific Games from November to December.
This was because their passports were not ready in time for their travel. This denies our athletes of much-needed exposures.
It’s good to hear the Immigration Department prioritise the procession of passports for for more than 30 sick kids and their parents yesterday and the same gesture should have been accorded to our athletes.
The demand for passports will continue to rise as the country gears up to host the Pacific Games.
And in the months leading up to the Games, a lot of our athletes will be heading overseas for some trials.
The need for a much bigger office in Honiara and provincial based passport processing units in Auki and Gizo is a must.
Not only that, but there should also be an office to process birth certificates.
At the moment, an applicant from the provinces has to travel to Honiara to get his or her birth certificate before applying for a passport.
If that service can be taken down to the two provincial centres, then it would ease the burden to travel to Honiara.
But in the meantime, let’s acknowledge the great effort by the Immigration Department for working tirelessly to sort out all the outstanding issues affecting many passport applicants.
