The Directorate of Immigration Services has explained that the delay in passport processing is due to applicants failing to attach the necessary documents, causing some applications to be rejected or stalled.
Applicants with urgent travel plans were asked to track their passport processing by contacting the department via phone or Whatsapp.
The Directorate also opened a window for urgent passport applications for medical, academic, and funeral travel.
The migration to digital passports, a broken passport printing machine, and an influx of passport applications are among the factors contributing to the longer-than-usual wait time for passport processing.
