LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services claims to have restored e-passport system.
This comes after President Lazarus Chakwera ordered the resumption of the system within three weeks following claims of hacking.
The Department also announced slashing of the passport from MK90,000 to MK50, 000 of the 16 page booklet.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, the department’s Director General, Brigadier General Charles Kalumo, stated that the development means that the e-Passport Issuance Services have resumed.
Kalumo added that the printing of passports will start gradually in Lilongwe this week before expanding the services to other regions.
“Further, the department is pleased to inform the public that government has reduced the e-Passport fee by 55 percent for local Malawians, from K90, 000 to K50, 000, for ordinary passports with waiting processing time of 10 days when the system is fully calibrated and operating optimally. More details will be announced soon when the Honourable Ministers of Homeland Security and Information hold a press conference,” reads the DG’s announcement.
Kalumo thanked Malawians for exercising patience during the time the e-passport issuance system was being fixed by a team of local experts from various entities who ‘worked around the clock to complete the task within the timeframe set by His Excellency the President’.
Meanwhile Malawians are yet to believe of full resumption of the passport printing.
