Immigration Stuck with Over 50,000 Unclaimed Passports

The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control under the Ministry of Internal Affairs is grappling with over 50,000 unclaimed passports, overwhelming its storage capacity and prompting the government to consider destroying the affected passports.

The revelation was made on Monday morning by the Internal Affairs Spokesperson, Simon Mundeyi, during a weekly security press briefing held at Police Headquarters in Naguru. Mundeyi expressed concern that the increasing daily production of passports is overwhelming the immigration department.

He appealed to passport applicants to find time and follow up on the status of their applications.

“If you have ever applied for a passport, come and pick it. If you have not received a message, please call us,” said Mundeyi.

This appeal was regarding concerns that some applicants may not have received Short Message Services (SMS) on their phones indicating that their passports were ready.

These concerns arise as the Ministry plans to open more regional branches where upcountry applicants will not be required to come to Kampala.

Regarding passport applicants whose National Identity Cards have expired or are soon expiring, Mundeyi says the National Identification Number, commonly known as NIN, doesn’t expire and therefore remains valid for passport application.

On average, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs produces 1,000 to 2,000 passports daily.