Machine readable passport applications being processed at Guyana's overseas missions
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| Published on Friday, October 23, 2009 |
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- The Guyana government has made applying for a machine readable passport by its citizens living abroad hassle free by the setting up of a processing desk at its consulates, high commissions and embassies overseas.
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| Guyana's Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon |
This was revealed by secretary to the Bharrat Jagdeo cabinet Dr Roger Luncheon on Wednesday at a media briefing.
According to Luncheon, unlike previous arrangements where persons were able to get their passports at these missions, this new system will see all these travel documents being issued from Georgetown.
“All machine readable passport applicants living overseas will now have their necessary particulars obtained at the nearest mission, it will be processed there and then that information would be transported under secure cover” Luncheon said.
He noted that the travel document will be prepared here and returned to the respective missions under very tight security for distribution to applicants.
This move the cabinet secretary explained is in keeping with a government position not to decentralize the distribution of the biometric travel document.
“The central passport office in Guyana will continue to be the sole issuing site for machine readable passports and this will be so in the near future”
The system also assists in the fight against terrorism, immigrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.
“The date by which the non machine readable passports become no longer legally tendered approach us, I think it will be sometime in 2011. For the Canadians I am advised its the end of this year, but for other countries they are a bit more lenient, but definitely by 2011-2012 non machine readable passports would belong to the museums” Luncheon added
Guyana introduced the machine-readable passports in 2007. | | | | Reads : 638 | | | |
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