Dear Editor,
Recently a member of my family sought an application form for the renewal of a Guyana Passport from the Consulate of Guyana, Miami. To my astonishment the application form number is named ‘Ramzan Roshanali, FORM I-3’. I was even more astonished after reading the instructions, it specified that the application fee is to be made payable to one ‘Ramzan Roshanali’. Is this the legitimate way of doing foreign affairs business? Personal checks are not acceptable but personal name is?
Guyana information source, the Guyana.org website, contradicts the above and states that the application fee should be made payable to the ‘Embassy of the Republic of Guyana’.
There is also a discrepancy in the amount of pictures required on both instruction sheets. Which is correct? Could the relevant Ministries (Foreign Affairs Ministry/Home Affairs) give a statement concerning the right procedure? Lastly could passport application forms be made available on the internet for free download. Imagine for the fee of one dollar (US) a Consulate employee has to open a mail, read it to determine that someone needs an application form then put together the form and instruction sheet in a pre-addressed/post paid envelope. Makes sense? I doubt it. Hope this letter gets to the relevant authorities.
Yours faithfully,
Ralph V Seegobin Sr
Florida
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for any comments they may wish to make.