The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has announced the reopening of all passport offices nationwide after they were indefinitely shut down on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The offices, effective today, Monday, May 18, 2020, have fully resumed work to serve the public. The online application portal for booking of appointments, however, remains closed until Wednesday, May 20, 2020.
In view of this, the Ministry has instituted some safety protocols in the various Passport Application Centers intended to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in consonance with the government’s directives.
Paramount among these are the ‘No face Mask, No Entry’ and ‘No hand Sanitizers, No Entry’ policies.
In a statement, the Ministry indicated forcefully that applicants and official visitors alike must wear face masks and have their own personal hand sanitizers before they can be allowed entry into an application centre.
In addition, persons seeking access to the premises of any passport office will undergo mandatory temperature screening before they will be allowed entry.
Hand washing and other adherence to social distancing according to the ministry have also been made compulsory to keep the viral disease at bay.
“Only applicants with booking appointments for capturing would be allowed entry into a Passport Application Center [and] applicants with booking appointments should show up only at the time of their appointment,” the statement spelt out.
It is also worth noting only applicants who have received notice of passport collection will be allowed into a PAC to collect their passports.
“Only official visitors other than applicants would be allowed entry after they have complied with all the measures spelt above,” it maintained.
For individuals who have no business at such offices, you are kindly advised to stay away from the Passport Application Centers.
