Malawi new passport fees roll out: Minister Dausi directs 100 percent increment

Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services is finally moving from the machine readable zone (MRZ) passports to electronic passports (e-passports)  along with new fees effective next week Tuesday, January 14 2019, it has been confirmed.

Immigration Department spokesperson Joseph Chauwa said  the e-passport is aimed at meeting International Civil Aviation Organisation security requirements which seek to enhance security.

He said the department has suspended recipient of passport applications which will resume on the 13th of January.

“The department is tirelessly working on the changes.  We are only implementers, so the new fees you have seen on the gazette is what we are going to implement you can find out more details to treasury,” he said.

In a Government gazette dated December 27 2019, Homeland Security Minister Nicholas Dausi has directed that issuance and renewal of an ordinary passport be pegged at K90 000 from the current K48 500 – almost 100 percent increment.

Replacement of an ordinary passport with 36 pages, according to the gazette, is now at K150 0000 while issuance of an express passport is pegged at K180 000 from K68 500, representing 262 percent increase.

Reads the Government Gazette: “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 40 of the Immigration Act, I, Nicholas Dausi, Minister of Homeland Security, make the following Regulations; These regulations may be cited as the Immigration [Amendment] Citation Regulations, 2019.

“The Immigration Regulations are amended by repealing the Fourth Schedule and replacing it with the new Schedule—Ordinary Passport, 32 paged booklet [a] Issuance of an ordinary passport K90 000; [b] Renewal of an ordinary passport K90 000; [c] Replacement of an ordinary passport K150 000; [d] Issuance of an express passport K180 000.”

Issuance and renewal of an ordinary passport with 46-pages will now cost K130 000; while replacement of an ordinary passport with 46 pages, and the express ordinary passport will cost K180 000. A certificate of identity travel document has moved from K10 000to K20 000.

Issuance and renewal of a 36 paged booklet- Passport for children under 10 years is now at K80 000 while replacement will cost K100 000.

An electronic passport, or e-passport, is the same as a traditional passport with the addition of a small integrated circuit (or “chip”) embedded in one of the covers or pages.