The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control Director, Maj Gen Apollo Kasiita Gowa has revealed that starting from 4th April 2022, Machine-Readable Passports (old passports) will only be used by Ugandans returning back to Uganda.
In a statement issued last week, Maj. Gen Gowa said that no person will be allowed to use (MRP) to travel out of Uganda after the deadline.
“As we approach the deadline for the phase-out of the Machine-Readable Passports (MRP) on 4th April 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control), wishes to inform all Ugandans living in the diaspora that after the deadline on 4th April 2022, MRPs will only be used by citizens returning back to Uganda. They will not be used to travel to other countries,” said Maj Gen Gowa.
He also urged Ugandans living in Uganda but are still using the MRPs to apply for their East Africa International Electronic Passports (E-Passports) online at www.passports.go.ug as the deadline is being approached.
Uganda launched the e-passport system in 2018. Initially, the program included a two-year transitional period to change from machine-readable to electronic passports. Due to covid-19, the initial deadline was extended to April 4, 2022, after which all Ugandan Machine-readable passports will be invalidated regardless of the indicated date of expiry.
E-passports were introduced due to technological advancements and they are worldwide accepted due to their capacity to provide secure identification of the passport holder. They also limit the chances of forgery of biometric information stored in the passport by fraudsters.
Currently, the fee for the new International East African e-passport is Shs250, 000 for Ordinary category under the normal service standards of seven days. Those who want the Express service that takes two days will pay an extra fee of Shs150, 000. Official passports cost Shs400, 000 while Diplomatic Passports cost Shs500,000.
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