-certain conditions apply

Alves assures integrity of documents would be maintained

THE Guyana Police Force has taken a decision to decentralise the issuance of passports with effect from Wednesday, October 01, 2014.A police press release to the media on Saturday said that applicants of new and renewed passports can uplift those at various police stations around the country. The police also stated that, with this move, persons would not have to travel to the Central Immigration Office in Georgetown to access this service, as presently obtains, therefore, the Central Immigration Office would no longer be encumbered by persons travelling from all the extremities of the country to uplift those documents.

The police press release detailed that passports would now be issued at the following police stations: Central Police Station in New Amsterdam; the Mackenzie Police Station in Region 10; the Parika Police Station on the East Bank of the Essequibo; Bartica Police Station in Bartica, Region 7; Anna Regina Immigration Office on the Essequibo Coast in Region 2; and the Lethem Immigration Office at the Multi-purpose Building Complex in Region 9.

Additionally, passports would continue to be issued at the Central Immigration Office in Georgetown.

Persons are advised that the service offered at the listed locations is restricted to uplifting passports, and not submitting application forms. They are further advised that when visiting the Central Immigration Office to apply for a new or renewed passport, they must state if they would like to pick up their passports at any of the locations, or return to the city to uplift the document.

It is important to note, the police have said, that for passports sent to Lethem, those would remain at the location for three months, and if not uplifted within that period, would be returned to the Central Office in Georgetown. For the other locations, the passports would remain there for two months, and should there be a failure on the part of the applicants to uplift same, then those would also return to the city.
All the rules which apply at the Central Immigration Office with respect to the uplifting of passports will apply at the decentralised locations.

Contacted yesterday afternoon, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer, Senior Superintendent Dale Alves, told the Guyana Chronicle that the integrity of the passports is assured. He said the passports would be the direct responsibility of the commander of the division or the officer in charge of the police station. He added that the passports would be checked daily to ensure that they are all accounted for.

Alves also related that the move was to ease the travelling to the city by those persons living outside of Region 4. He commented that, outside of Georgetown, the largest number of applicants comes from Berbice.

(Leroy Smith)