The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
ZIMBABWE has gazetted fees for the newly introduced e-passport with the current passport set to cease being recognized on 31 December 2023.
The e-passport is set to be launched by President Mnangagwa later today (Tuesday) at Chiwashira Building in Harare.
According to Statutory Instrument 273 of 2021 of the Citizenship (passport fees) Regulations, the new e-passport fees have been pegged at US$100 for the ordinary and US$200 for the emergency.
“The Minister (of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage) hereby notifies that henceforth the Government will cease the issuance of the current types of passports and in place thereof will be issuing electronically readable passports (e-passports) whose charges are as specified in the schedule.
“The current type of passports, issued before the date of operation of these regulations, will cease to be acceptable internationally by 31 December 2023, and will therefore need to be replaced by e-passports in terms of these regulations,” reads the SI.
According to the new regulations a normal fee of US$20 will be charged for every passport application fee processed at any CBZ bank branch countrywide.
The historic introduction of the e-passport reflects an adoption of smart technology by the Civil Registry Department which is mandated to provide vital registration documents.
The Government is working with Garsu Pasaulis, who is the implementation partner for the e-passport and the production of other vital civil registration documents.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which is the specialised United Nations agency on aviation security and standards for international travel prescribes member states to adopt measures that safeguard the integrity and security of travel and identity documents.
