People who had applied for passports have been waiting for long and still there is a backlog of more than 83,000 applications. People are fed up with this long wait as they can’t go forward with their career options and even can’t join their families for urgent matters.
The applicants have chosen an ‘enough is enough’ attitude as they can’t move forward without their passports. The passport office replied that they will issue more passports after expanding the criteria if they feel that the need to travel is reasonable.
The passport services had been halted as Level 5 restrictions had been implemented since December. There are several complaints registered through their websites and webchats. Even though they have implemented the online support system the number of applications cleared were considerably low.
The DFA spokesperson told that most 22,000 passports have been issued by the DFA where 2,400 urgent applications have been considered and 200 emergency passports are issued. The operations will be resumed when the level 5 restrictions are lifted and the backlogged applications will be cleared with six to eight weeks.