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10,000 new passports in post-Christmas rush
View(s):At least 10,000 fresh passports were issued during the four day post-Christmas rush as thousands of people thronged the Immigration Department in Borella to beat the fee increase which came into effect on Friday, a top official said yesterday.
Some 2,500 passports of different categories were issued on a daily basis and not a single applicant was turned back before the stipulated time of closure, Immigration and Emigration Chief Nihal Ranasinghe said.
The increase in the fees was announced in the recent budget. However, most applicants had apparently thought this proposal also would be revised but it did not happen and that was probably the reason for the big rush after Christmas, he said. The fee to issue an All-Countries Passport under the normal service has been increased from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3000 while the fee for a one-day service has gone up from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 10,000.
In addition the fee to issue an All Countries Passport under normal services for minors below 16 years of age was increased from Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3,000. Meanwhile, the dual citizenship fee has also been increased with the main applicant’s fee going up from Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 300,000. However the fee for family members remain the same.