The Tribune

THE Passport Office has announced that a special collection centre opens today and will remain open during the month of July at the Anatol Rodgers Gymnasium at the school on Faith Avenue in Nassau.

The special centre has been opened to promote and encourage the collection of thousands of e-passports that have been processed and are ready to be picked up by the holders.

One of the main challenges for the Passport Office is to get passport holders to collect their new e-passports, which have already been applied for, completed and are currently awaiting collection.

Chief Passport Officer Superintendent Clarence Russell said: "There is right now an extensive list of passports simply waiting for their owners to come and collect them."

To be sure that your individual e-passport is among those ready for collection, the Passport Office has established a hotline for public enquiries at 323-8591.

Mr Russell continued: "...Or people can simply drive by the Passport Office and examine the list of completed passports awaiting collection, which is posted on the outside window of the Passport Office on Thompson Boulevard."

The centre at Anatol Rodgers will be open each day, Monday through Friday, between 10.30am and 2.30pm solely for the collection of passports that have already been processed and that are ready for collection.

The public is further advised to remember to bring along: old passports for cancellation and receipts as proof of entitlement to collect the new passport.

The Passport Office has been undergoing rejuvenation recently, with increased emphasis on customer service and responsiveness.

Mr Russell also said that "of the 355,468 persons in the Bahamas eligible to hold a passport, we are proud to report that a total of 339,413 do in fact have their new electronically readable or e-passports."