Muscat – With Uganda upgrading its passports to electronic ones – the first East African country to do so – its citizens in Oman who have not acquired the new passports have been informed to change their old passports soon in order to avoid any inconveniences which may result from the old machine-readable passports being phased out.

“The Government of the Republic of Uganda had extended the deadline for using the old machine-readable passports to April 4, 2022, which is long over. All Ugandan citizens are encouraged to replace the old passports with a new electronic passport. This is in keeping with regulations of digital passports,” said Esther Babirye, a representative of the Uganda Embassy based in Oman, told Muscat Daily.

“As we do not have an embassy in Oman; officials from the Ugandan Embassy in Saudi Arabia will be in Muscat from Nove-mber 27 to December 1 to ensu- re that all Ugandans in Oman are supported to acquire the e-passports and other consular services required,” she added.

Ugandans living abroad whose passports have expired are advised to download and fill passport application Form G from the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control website.

To apply for a passport, Ugandan citizens can visit www.pass ports.go.ug, pay the requisite fee, schedule an appointment, appear in person to meet passport officials at Royal Tulip, Ghubra, on the appointed day and have their biometric details captured.

Applicants should attach two passport-size photos, a copy of the old passport (biodata page and page 45) and submit their applications through the nearest Ugandan mission abroad. The Ugandan mission then attaches a letter confirming that the applicant is a Ugandan living in that country.

The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control in Uganda has created a special desk in the passport office to fast-track applications from the diaspora. “Ugandans living abroad who want to have their passport renewed without waiting for the backlog at the embassies, should send their passport through a courier with a letter from the embassy confirming that the applicant is living in that country,” Esther informed.

“The e-passport costs 250,000 Ugandan shillings for the ordinary passport; the process takes two weeks. Applicants who need their passports urgently are required to pay an additional fee of 150,000 Ugandan shillings for express processing,” she added.

Esther, who takes care of Ugandans in Oman, said that the passport officials will be available at Royal Tulip Ghubra from 11am to 10pm. “Other consular services will also be offered during their visit, including attestation of documents, visiting Ugandans in prisons and hospitals, issue no objection letters, and engage the Ugandan diaspora in government policies.”

Ugandan machine-readable passports have not been valid for international travel after April 4, 2022. Uganda launched the Ugandan East African e-passport in 2018. A two-year transitional period followed allowing the phasing out of the earlier machine-readable passports.