No passports will be issued in June!
Minister for Immigration Viliame Naupoto said the temporary suspension of passport bookings for June was to manage growing demand and prevent future delays.
He explained that issuing too many passports in a short period would lead to a significant backlog as many would expire simultaneously.
Emergency passports, however, would continue to be processed within 24 hours.
In the meantime, Fijians can travel using certificates of identity while they wait for their passports.
Applications for passport processing in June have been temporarily suspended to better manage demand, Minister for Immigration Viliame Naupoto has confirmed.
Mr Naupoto told The Fiji Times that issuing too many passports within a short period could create future processing delays.
“In terms of passport issuance, we’ve temporarily closed bookings for June to manage the flow of applications,” Mr Naupoto said.
“If we issue too many passports in a short period, they’ll all expire at the same time, creating a future backlog. By controlling the issuance, we can better manage demand and ensure a smoother process in the long term.”
Despite the disruption, the minister assured that emergency passports would continue to be processed within 24 hours.
“When I came in, we had only one printer working, thankfully, that’s been repaired, and now both printers are fully operational,” he said.
By May, the system is expected to be back to normal, with both printers ready to handle increased demand.
The ministry ordered new passport stocks in January, a process that takes about six months.
“When I first came in as minister, the passport stock was around 7000. We expect the first batch of 100,000 new blank books to arrive by May 25. Right now, we have just over 2000 passports left, which are reserved for emergency travel,” the minister said.
He noted that passport applications were processed individually, rather than in large batches, with specific requirements for each applicant.
Mr Naupoto also thanked the governments of New Zealand and Australia for allowing Fijian citizens to travel using certificates of identity while awaiting their passports.
