Maj Gen Elia Costa, Directorate of Civil Registry, Passports, Immigration and Nationality (DCRNPI) - Credit: Michael Daniel/Eye Radio

The Directorate of Civil Registry and Immigration says it has deployed a team to Egypt to establish an online passport processing system aimed at improving access to services for South Sudanese living in Cairo.

Major General Elia Kosta, the Director General of the Directorate of Civil Registry and Immigration, announced the initiative yesterday while receiving a shipment of 105,000 nationality cards and 3,600 passport booklets in Juba.

General Kosta said the new online system will link applications submitted in Cairo directly to the immigration database in Juba, allowing authorities to process and issue passports more efficiently.

“We have also sent a team of engineers to Egypt to establish an online system that will connect applications made in Cairo directly to our database here in Juba. This will help us process passports more quickly and deliver them to our citizens without unnecessary delays.

“In addition, we are working to introduce the same system in all 10 states and the three administrative areas so that we can simplify access to nationality and passport services for our people,” he said.

According to Kosta, the initiative is intended to reduce delays faced by South Sudanese citizens seeking passports and nationality documents abroad.

The immigration chief also disclosed that more than 10,000 uncollected nationality certificates and passports remain at the issuing center in Juba.

He urged applicants who have processed nationality certificates or passports to visit immigration offices and verify whether their documents are ready for collection.

“I would like to inform the public that we have many nationality certificates and passports at the issuing center that have not been collected by their owners. We have more than 10,000 nationality certificates currently in storage, as well as many passports. I am urging everyone who has applied for a nationality certificate or passport to come and check whether their document is ready for collection,” he said.

Kosta further revealed that the directorate plans to expand the same digital system to all 10 states and the three administrative areas to simplify access to nationality and passport services across the country.