By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell yesterday confirmed plans to increase the cost to obtain a new Bahamian passport, pending approval from the Ministry of Finance.

While Mr Mitchell did not reveal the proposed fee increase, he said it is likely to reflect the actual cost of producing the documents, which are now subsidised by the government. The passport application fee is currently $50.

Officials also announced that they have taken in $24,000 in emergency passport fees, since announcing the new $200 charge for a 48-hour turnaround more than a week ago.

“What we are seeking to do is demonstrate to the Ministry of Finance, that this (proposed application increase) is a position which makes financial sense because it is one of the things that has to happen,” Mr Mitchell said. “Of course, when there is a new passport the fee itself is going to go up. So it is likely to go up to actually reflect the cost of the document because right now the cost of the document is being subsidised.”

The announcement came during a press conference yesterday at the Passport Office at John F Kennedy Drive where Mr Mitchell sought to update the public on the production of passports and the 6,500 backlog of applications.

He also clarified concerns about the new $200 fee for people who require passports within 48 hours, saying the new charge was a move to eliminate attempts by applicants to offer workers money “on the side” to get the process advanced.

Up to press time, officials reported that they had collected $24,000 in the new fees from about 120 persons who needed emergency passports.

“We continue to be challenged by resources and manpower,” Mr Mitchell said. “This is causing continued delays in the production of passports.

“Staff has been brought in from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help with approvals. We have an outstanding request with the Ministry of Finance to allow us overtime approval.”

He continued: “If you require a passport on an emergency basis the fees are there to deal with that. You do not have to pay anyone any extra sums of money and do not do so. No one is authorised to solicit any funding on the side for the production of this passport. Those people who are seeking to put pressure on me personally… that the regulations are quite strict that it is not possible for me to waive the fee in law unless there is a medical emergency that is the only circumstance.”

Mr Mitchell said amid the backlog, the government has already set in motion plans to overhaul technology at the Passport Office at a price tag of around $18m. The minister first made this announcement in the House of Assembly in June.

“Canadian Bank Note (Company Ltd) has been named as the new vendor for the equipment and they are working now on the software design which will include passports,” Mr Mitchell said yesterday. “It is about an 18-month roll out which means that it has begun already so 18 months from now the project should be complete and it costs I think about $18m altogether, so it is quite an expensive thing to do because at the end of the day passports will be different from what they are now because the kinds of passports we are using now have been in place since 2008. The technology has changed and the security features on the new passports are different.

“The wait time for normal passport issuance remains 12 weeks from the date the application is submitted and the Passport Office has secured Ministry of Finance approval for overtime pay for workers to tackle this situation on the weekends.”

As of November 30, all Bahamians are expected to have an e-passport and handwritten passports will no longer be accepted.