Government to extend deadline for expiry of all old passports

Government has said it is soon extending the deadline for expiry of the old passports and be replaced by East African passports.

A statement by Uganda Revenue Authority last week, indicated that all passports will have to be replaced by the new East African E-passport by the end of January 2021.

“The government through the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration in the Ministry of Internal Affairs has set the end of January 2021 as the deadline for phasing out of all old passports which are to be replaced by the new East African E-passport,” the URA read in part.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Jacob Siminyu told journalists on Monday that after complaints from members of the public, the earlier decision was reversed.

“We are considering setting a deadline at a later date. We are carrying out consultations with stakeholders to ensure we agree on which date can be appropriate for the new deadline. As soon as the process of consultation is completed, a new deadline will be set,”Siminyu said.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the move to reverse the earlier decision of the January deadline was reached following several concerns from members of the public over the difficulties involved in meeting the said deadline during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry spokesperson noted that a new deadline would be announced as soon as consultations with stakeholders are done.

https://nilepost.co.ug/2020/08/23/all-old-ugandan-passports-to-expire-in-january/