Immigration: Passport services to return to normal next week

Maldives Immigration says that its passport services were expected to return to normal operations next week.

The new deadline comes after the previous one expired on September 27.

Back on August 27, Immigration stated it would take a month for a new stock of passports to arrive in the Maldives, and announced the decision to extend the validity of passports set to expire.

A spokesperson from Immigration told Sun on Tuesday that they expected to receive the new stock and return to normal operations next week.

The spokesperson added that the agency was prioritizing emergencies in issuing passports for the time being.

Back in August, Immigration announced the decision to suspend issuance of new passports. Instead of renewal, the agency has been extending the validity of existing passports to June 30, 2027, and has also been issuing emergency passports for short-term trips to destinations like Sri Lanka and India.

The issuance of e-passports had also faced disruptions back in May, when a shortage in material needed to produce it forced Immigration to suspend the service.