BAHAMIANS waiting for passports are being advised that they should expect delays of more than 12 weeks despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claiming that additional staff and equipment has been brought in to try to tackle the backlog of applications.
In a statement on Saturday the Ministry said "the Passport Office continues to experience challenges with the production of passports" a month after Foreign Affairs Minister, Fred Mitchell, told the House of Assembly during the Budget debate that the wait for passports was 12 weeks from the date of the application.
"There continues however to be challenges meeting even that deadline and the deadlines of those who already have dates given to them," Saturday's statement read. The Ministry said it is working on addressing the issues. "Additional staff and equipment are being brought in and utilised to deal with the challenges with a view to removing a backlog of some 6,500 passport applications."
The Ministry gave advice on specific issues in the statement, including the issue of emergency passports for $200. "The public is advised that those who need to have passports within 48 hours of the application after the 1st of July can with the payment of a fee of $200 obtain the passport on an emergency basis.
"Those who have applied before 1st July and were given a date certain for the production of the passport, will not have to pay any additional fee for the production of the passport if needed at short notice. The office will do its best to accommodate all of these requests in order to facilitate medical emergencies, athletes representing the country or students returning to schools overseas.
"The additional fee applies only to applications brought in after the 1st of July who wish the passport produced within 48 hours.
"In order to facilitate emergency passport production requests, the Passport Office will make available to the general public in the coming week, a dedicated email address through which such requests can be made. This dedicated system will greatly assist the Passport Office in better serving the public.
"In addition, there is also a $200 charge in addition to the cost the passport for anyone who has lost two passports or more within a 12-month period. The fee is not payable where there is a medical emergency."
Comments
Cobalt 8 years, 9 months ago
A three month wait for a passport???? This is beyond ridiculous. Can the Bahamas do anything proficiently??? My God! This country is a total embarrassment!
sheeprunner12 8 years, 9 months ago
This is not acceptable .............. who is running the MOFA, who is its Minister and Permanent Secretary, who is the Chief Passport Officer, who is working in the Passport Office???????
This is way beyond having sufficient e-passport machines .............. this is institutional incompetency
And to add insult to injury ......... pay $200 you want a passport in less than 3 months???
What is the average wait time for a passport in the OECD countries ... or that is not a good comparison???
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 9 months ago
It may be workers forcing your hand in a bid to "tip" them to do their job. They've been working this way for years. Now it's biting them
B_I_D___ 8 years, 9 months ago
Sadly...if you know someone who knows someone, you can get it done in no time flat...dem dollas grease da wheel!!
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 9 months ago
A Canadian friend of mine living here in Nassau was telling me just the other day how impressed he was with the speed in which the Canadian Government recently renewed his passport. It was done in just under three weeks and that included the time it took for his renewal documents to get from Nassau to the Canadian Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, and for that Embassy to send his new passport to him here in Nassau. Fred Mitchell should be ashamed of himself for failing to get to the bottom of all the problems preventing the timely processing of Bahamian passports. Just how incompetent can he possibly be (dare I ask)? Perhaps he's quite content to sit back and extort $200 from the many Bahamians who desperately need their passport much sooner than 12 weeks or more!!
sansoucireader 8 years, 9 months ago
Took my husband almost 10 MONTHS (!) to get his British passport renewed, and that was applying early. Sent everything registered mail to the UK from Nassau and what an experience that was. Lost/missing and even with an ID# and Skype calls back 'n forth long time before he finally had it in his hands.
$200? Sounds like quite a 'business' you've got going down there Mr. Foreign Affairs. Why do the job you're supposed to be doing when you can charge someone an outrageous fee?
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 9 months ago
Business is right. What about the persons who can't afford it? I'm confused as to how it's possible to produce an emergency passport in 48 hours but normal processing is three months or more
SP 8 years, 9 months ago
If you can't afford $200.00 for a passport, obviously you don't NEED a passport, because your not going anywhere anyway
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 9 months ago
I had really not thought of that! Maybe 200 is half of my shopping money...:)
Sickened 8 years, 9 months ago
I just got my British passport renewed earlier this year and it took less than four weeks. My mum got hers in just over two weeks.
DEDDIE 8 years, 9 months ago
Its only $200 for us to be competent. That's a bargain.
TheMadHatter 8 years, 9 months ago
Bahamians have to wait 12 weeks, meanwhile Haitians get their Bahamian passports in only 12 minutes.
TheMadHatter
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 9 months ago
There you go, the REAL reason for the backlog, everybody working on their second "fake passport" job on government time.
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 9 months ago
I repeat, to Gowen Bowe. Mrs (Nicole?) Rolle, your National Development Plan is toilet tissue paper if it does not address corruption and the ease with which any PM, government MP or Cabinet minister can abuse, misuse and rape the country for their personal gain.
Please also address the qualifications for persons to be handed the reigns to the country. No you don't want to take the right from the common man, but if the common man wants a shot, he must show that he understands the constitution and he knows common business principles like ETHICS and risk management. This is not Sir Milo's horse and buggy economy, this is a 21st century Jedi Warrior billion dollar economy and we can't afford to have ILLITERATES IN TRAINING running it (like we do today).
bigbadbob 8 years, 9 months ago
passport in canada is 5 days with a request for extra speed 35.00 extra , normaly 14-20 days ,
SP 8 years, 9 months ago
................................................... BREAKING NEWS ...................................................
Haitian criminal networks working with crooked JP's, pastors, Registry staff and others have infiltrated and totally corrupted the passport office making it nearly impossible to determine authentic Bahamians.
All you clowns out there acting all surprised at whats happening with passports must have been living under a very big rock. This is old news...STFU!
sheeprunner12 8 years, 9 months ago
This is a serious threat to national security ............ if non-citizens are getting our passports because they can "payoff" Passport Office officials, then our citizenship status is in crisis ........ it will only be a matter of time before the U.S. pulls its pre-clearance and visas will be next to impossible to get ........ then let the dumb civil service bastards who are now selling out our country for "tips" see if the Chinese will come to our rescue ............... hint, hint
Fred if you are serious about your job ......... fix the inept Passport Office now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
B_I_D___ 8 years, 9 months ago
Applications submitted outside Canada and the United States
Unless you come to Canada and submit your application at a passport office or receiving agent (Service Canada or Canada Post) service location, you must submit your application to the nearest Canadian government office abroad.
Processing time for applications submitted outside Canada: 20 business days
Passport – Fees Passport type $CAN 5-year adult passport (age 16 or over) 190 10-year adult passport (age 16 or over) 260 Child passport (0-15 years of age) 100
B_I_D___ 8 years, 9 months ago
Renew or replace your adult passport
You can renew or replace your passport at any time. It costs £72.50, or £82.25 through the Post Office’s Passport Check and Send service.
Time left on an existing passport is added to your new one, up to a maximum of 9 months. How long it takes
It should take 3 weeks to get the passport - use a different service if you need the passport urgently.
B_I_D___ 8 years, 9 months ago
Above two timelines are passports abroad. If you are in the UK or Canada, you can pay a premium to get the passports the same day or the next day. As it stands now, regular passport fees are inline with what is the standard with most countries.
B_I_D___ 8 years, 9 months ago
BUT...3+ months for a LOCAL renewal is ABSURD.
MonkeeDoo 8 years, 9 months ago
So, its $200.00 over the table and how much under ? Another $200.00
Reality_Check 8 years, 9 months ago
Registered voters in Fred Mitchell's constituency will tell you who they phone in his constituency office in order get their Bahamian passports within a week or so tops. They will tell you this is one of the many perks they receive from Freddy Boy for keeping him in the House of Assembly. In fact, Freddy Boy's constituents probably laugh at the rest of us Bahamians every time we complain to the press about the great difficulties we have in getting our passports. You can bet your last dollar that just about every individual of Haitian heritage living in Freddy Boy's constituency has a Bahamian passport, no matter how they came to be living in the Bahamas.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID