- 500,000 new passports in stock
- 2,900 issued daily, targeting 4,000 to end delay
- Korean exam applicants allocated 30,000 passports
- Passports issued for religious trips
- 600 issued daily for urgent travel needs
The final report of the special expert committee appointed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to investigate the controversial passport issue is set to be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow (27), according to Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala.
He told The Sunday Morning that a final decision on the recommendations proposed by the expert committee would be made during the Cabinet meeting.
The report comes at a time when the country’s stock of new passports stands at approximately 500,000, according to the statistics provided by Wijepala.
Moreover, new applicants are currently facing significant delays, with passports applied for last week expected to be issued in May under the normal process and in June under the one-day service, as reliably learnt by The Sunday Morning.
Addressing these delays, Wijepala stressed: “If a person can prove that there is an urgency for them to obtain a passport to go to a foreign country, that person will be able to get a new passport on that day itself.”
“At present, the Department of Immigration and Emigration is issuing approximately 2,900 new passports daily. To minimise delays, this number needs to increase to at least 4,000 per day. However, it will take another seven to eight months to achieve that capacity.
“We have set aside 30,000 passports for individuals who have completed the Korean exams and are also issuing passports for those undertaking religious trips, such as to Dambadiwa (pilgrimages to India) and Makkah (Mecca). Additionally, about 600 passports are being issued daily under the one-day service for those requiring urgent travel documents,” the Minister explained.
In addition to the expert committee opinion, The Sunday Morning learns that the proposed options to address the ongoing passport crisis include initiating a fresh tender for new passports and seeking the Attorney General’s (AG) advice to expedite a court case related to the matter, given its impact on the public.
The Minister stated that a decision would need to be made from among these options.
“There is an ongoing court case, so we are looking into the possibility of initiating a fresh tender. We have sought the AG’s legal opinion to determine whether it is permissible for the ministry to proceed with a new tender despite the case,” he explained.
“We will also review the recommendations provided by the committee once they are presented to the Cabinet on Monday (27),” he added.
Last year, the President appointed a special committee to investigate the passport fiasco, tasking it with analysing the controversy surrounding the issue.
The Department of Immigration and Emigration has struggled for years to meet the growing demand for passports. Although the department typically issues around 2,800 passports daily, this number dropped to just 1,000 by the end of last year due to a shortage of passport booklets.
The shortage, worsened by the Government’s transition to electronic passports with embedded security chips, has led to delays lasting several months. While intending to modernise the system, the shift has proven costly and complicated.
The crisis intensified when the Government’s tender process to procure new e-passports turned into a legal battle.
The tender awarded to Thales and Just In Time Technologies (JITT) for $ 4.97 per passport was challenged by Epic Lanka, which submitted a higher bid of $ 9.85 but claimed exclusive rights to passport issuance based on a prior agreement.
Epic Lanka’s legal challenge resulted in a Court of Appeal injunction preventing the Government from proceeding with the Thales/JITT contract. The case is pending review, leaving the public uncertain about when new passports will be available.
Operational challenges have further compounded the issue. Epic Lanka has allegedly failed to meet an immediate demand for 100,000 passports, exacerbating delays.
Meanwhile, Thales/JITT, though cost-effective, had offered a slower delivery timeline, promising 750,000 passports over an extended period from October 2024 to April this year.
Additionally, delays in procuring the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) software, essential for securing e-passports, have further hindered the transition. Initially part of the passport contract, the PKI procurement was later separated, delaying its availability by at least six months, as learnt by The Sunday Morning.