BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LATE last week, the government of St. Christopher and Nevis announced a 194 percent hike in the price of passports as it has begun issuing biometric travel documents as opposed to the machine-readable ones.
Some have classified this price hike as an injustice on the people whose pockets are already far-stretched under the burden of a strenuous economic situation.
However, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas explained during Tuesday’s (Jan. 10) edition of ‘Ask the PM’ the reasons for the switch to biometric passports and the price increase.
In 2005, the Federation began issuing machine-readable passports which bore the insignia of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and now, in 2012, according to Dr. Douglas, it has become “necessary” for there to be an upgrade as the Federation works on improving the security of its citizens and guard against fraudulent activity.
“…it has become necessary for us to continuously improve the security of our passports. You would recall that we originally had the small green passports…then it became necessary for us to have the CARICOM passport. Then it became necessary because of the fact that they were writing into the passports. We were being advised by the international security community that handwritten information into passports was not going to be acceptable in the future.
“As a result of that, it was important to have machine-readable passports in order to increase our security, plus, a number of security features had to be added to our passport. For example, it was no longer possible to be having a photograph stuck into the passport because we found that people were removing the photograph, inserting other photographs, and with a lot of falsification. We had serious problems of security at our borders and it became necessary therefore to have a photograph taken at the spot and possibly put directly by way of a new technology into the passport.
“We also began to have problems apart from the machine-readable passport. We have also been told that the biometric passport, the epassport, was going to be the passport of the future and certain specific features were going to be required in this new passport. And it was important for us therefore to advance to that new document because more and more of our own citizens were using our travel document to go across different parts of the world in a way it had not been seen before.”
Dr. Douglas further explained that the features of the biometric passport in comparison with the machine-readable passport make it “a little more expensive and so it became necessary for us to increase the price of the passport based on production cost”.
He advised that persons who possess the machine-readable passports which have not yet expired could continue using them until their lifespan come to an end. At that point, however, the biometric passport would have to be purchased.
“Let me advise that persons who currently have the existing passport, the current machine-readable passport, will continue to use those passports. Only persons who require new passports or some persons who are international travellers, who would prefer to have the much more sophisticated and much more modern and (more) hassle-free passport which is the biometric passport. If you want one and you can afford to buy it, then, of course, you can bring in your old passport and you get the new document.”
Prior to 2005, $30 was enough to secure a passport and with the introduction of machine-readable passports within the Federation, the cost increased by 167 percent - $85. And now, a 194 percent increase for biometric passports.
A press release previously issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary lists the new payment arrangements which come with the passport upgrade.
“Fees associated with the new Biometric passports are as follows:
Issue of a 32-page epassport for applicants under 16 years or over 65 years – EC$150.00
Issue of a 32-page e-passport for applicants 16 years or under 65 years – EC$250.00
Replacement of a lost, stolen and or damaged e-passport (except for citizenship by investment) – EC$500.00
Replacement of a lost, stolen and or damaged e-passport with a copy of a report from the Police, Fire & Rescue Services Department, other relevant authority, or such credible information supporting the applicant's statement – EC$250.00
Processing and issuing of a passport in four days or less (except for citizenship by investment) – EC$350.00.
Separate fees for applicants who obtain citizenship by investment are to be published shortly.”
