Immigration insists passport ‘genuine’
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services insists that the Malawi passport is authentic and up to international standards.
The sentiments come after Norway refused to grant visas to about 16 Malawians on the basis that chips on their newly-obtained passports failed to read during processing.
In a written response on Thursday, Immigration Department spokesperson Wellington Chiponde said the department is yet to receive an official complaint from the Norwegian Government through their diplomatic channels.
He said the passports being issued remain authentic and are embedded with unique security features that comply with international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao).
Said Chiponde: “Icao is a specialised agency of the United Nations that regulates civil aviation across the globe. There is no need to panic as the passport is authentic and accepted globally.
“Malawians may wish to know that there are no unique incidents that have been reported to have challenged holders of the passports except for isolated common experiences which have no correlation to the quality and authenticity of the Malawi passport.”
He further said travellers reported that they have been issued with visas and have entered Norway without facing any challenges.
Some of the 16, who were denied visas and were expected to travel to Norway between June and July this year, declined to comment when contacted.
But a letter the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa issued to one of the visa applicants, the embassy noted that an unreadable passport poses challenges when crossing borders.
Two weeks ago, Ministry of Homeland Security Principal Secretary Steve Kayuni urged the Immigration Department to quickly address all the bottlenecks associated with passport service delivery.
In April this year, Malawi engaged local information and communications technology firm E-Tech Systems as the new passport system supplier, taking over from Techno Brain.
