Sudan’s hand-written passports to be nullified on November 25th
November 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Ministry of Interior announced today that all hand-written passports will be nullified effective November 25th after which only machine-readable passports (MRPs) will be accepted.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) asked all states to convert to MRPs before that date as many countries will no longer admit non-compliant travel documents.
Over 120 countries have announced that they are currently issuing e-Passports.
The Director General of Passport Division Abu-Bakr Suleiman said at a news conference in Khartoum on Thursday that work has begun on installation of electronic readers at Khartoum airport.
He further explained that they completed all arrangements for establishing 8 new e-Passport centers in Khartoum state along with 3 mobile ones.
Teams will also be dispatched to a number of Arab countries to assist expatriates with replacing their hand-written passports.
Suleiman disclosed that they produced between 4,000 – 5,000 electronic passports per day.
The director of the Department of Transportation in the authority of Civil Aviation Azhari Abdul-Magid urged all citizens to ensure that they are in possession of e-passports adding that the old one will not be accepted at international airports.
(ST)