Over 100 passport applications are being received from New York alone on a weekly basis and this has placed pressure on the Central Immigration and Passport Office, Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix says.
Felix told Stabroek News on Thursday that because of the increased demand at the Georgetown location, efforts are being made to decentralise the service.
Within recent months, members of the public have voiced frustration at this office over the long lines and facilities put in place for members of the public at the location.
Felix said that the work at this office has grown “beyond it.”
Felix in a letter published in Stabroek News earlier this month, noted that there were around 400 people turning up each day and as a result the Passport Office has been stretched to the limit.
As a result of the large numbers that were turning up, Felix disclosed in the letter that he had instituted a numbering system with a cut-off point. This has meant that people – including some from out of town – have had to be turned away and told to return the next day.
Felix explained that in wake of the implementation of machine readable passports, “we have had to cut space for the cubicles and so on in there and it is equally stressful for the immigration officers as well as for the public because everybody’s cramped in the same area.”
Asked why all of a sudden there have been long lines, he said “there is an increased demand. Long lines come from an increased demand. It takes a minimum of ten minutes to complete (the process).” Asked if this increased demand is coming from residents or Guyanese abroad, he said they are coming from the Guyana end.
It is then that he made the revelation about the New York applications. “Forget the others, New York alone…every week without fail. There are other areas in the diaspora that would produce huge number of applications every week,” he added.
He said that those living in the diaspora are also seeking the emigration of relatives and they are also driving the increased demand for passports and this must be understood.
Asked about the efforts that being made to increase the capacity of the Georgetown Office, Felix said, “Well that is what is happening right now.”
Felix went on to explain that equipment was bought last year and is presently being installed. He said that the department’s work is finished and now is the time for the technical people to come in and install the equipment. He said that more units will be put in to process the applications. “That is happening right now,” he stressed.
Asked about staffing, he said this was looked at before the equipment was bought. “That was done last year when we ordered the equipment. We are not going to order the equipment then discuss with the Commissioner (the issue of staffing),” he noted.
Linden
Meanwhile, Felix disclosed that the Linden office should begin receiving passport applications from persons who were previously issued with a machine readable passport by mid-August.
The other areas being worked on are New Amsterdam and Essequibo, he said. He said that once building issues are sorted out “then we start the distribution just as we are doing in Linden.”
He said that Lindeners, who may have had a passport before the implementation of machine readable passports, will have to submit their applications to the Georgetown office. He said that once a person already has a machine readable passport and needs a new one, it will be dealt with in Linden and other areas.
According to the Minister, he was hoping to secure a building in Corriverton but that did not work out and as a result everything would have to be done in New Amsterdam.
He said that 250 persons come for passports every day and then 180 of them have to return, since there is no building “to take off all of that. We will be doing it…reconfiguration of buildings and so on or a section of the building we are going to use is what is being contemplated.”
He said that a full stream project could be realised next year. “More likely, this is just to deal, to bring relief to long hours of traveling and wait,” he said.
Asked about the decentralisation in Berbice, he said that is a work in progress, while adding that a small amount of distribution is being done there presently.
He reiterated that the decentralisation is all in an effort to resolve the long lines at the Georgetown Office. This, he said, would relieve people from out of town from having to travel to Georgetown.
