Thursday, May 31, 2007
Jordan Agrees To Allow Iraqi Passport Type “S” Until End Of Year
Region
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 30 MAY - The Iraqi Ambassador in Amman, Saad Jassim Al Hayaini, said that the Jordanian government has informed him of their decision to continue accepting the Iraqi passport type “S” until the end of the year instead of the 30th of this month. Al Hayaini added that the Jordanian decision came after an Iraqi request because of the difficulties in distributing the new type “G” passport. The minister in Amman has received only 200 passports daily; they complete the information and send it to Baghdad.
Jordan announced previously that it would not accept the old type “S” passport because they believe that it is easy to forge and the current number of Iraqis with the type “S” passport in Amman is 750,000. An Iraqi Parliament delegation visited Jordan two weeks ago and met with Jordanian officials including the Minister of Interior, intelligence officers, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to find help for the Iraqis that are suffering there. On the other side, the Ministry of Interior stopped the special procedures for changing names and family names for one year.
Labels: Jordan, Saad Jassim Al Hayaini, Type G Passports, Type S passports
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
New Procedures To Prevent “Forged” Passports
Government
(Al Mada Newspaper AR.) - 13 MAY - General Yasin Al Yasiri, the Chief of Identity Cards, Passports, and Foreign Resident’s Cards, said the issuance of passports will now be centralized - Iraqis can only receive a passport - in Baghdad… and this is in accordance with international (passport control) procedures throughout the entire world.
Al Yasiri added that “extreme measures” will be instituted next month, in order to prevent the “forgery” of “Type-G” Iraqi Passports. He continued: the law states that Iraqi Passports should “first be issued in Baghdad” where there is a database of “wanted” people. Iraq’s embassies abroad do not yet have access to this database.
Al Yasiri also said: my office has not sent any “Type-G” Iraqi Passports to Iraq’s embassies abroad… but, we have sent many (Passport Office) officers and application to the embassies. These applications will be filled out and compiled inside the embassies. (When an embassy has compiled 1,000 completed applications) they will be forwarded to Baghdad via (diplomatic) courier.
Al Yasiri continued: the Cabinet has approved the increasing of the number of “Type-G Passport-making” devices [the government has authorized buying more machinery]. Soon, twenty of these devices will be sent to Iraqi Embassies abroad. In June, some of the devices will be sent to: Kurdistan, Basrah, and Amman (Jordan).
By the end of this year, Iraq will have witnessed “a revolution” in the Passport issuance process. Once the devices are distributed the citizens in other governorates will no longer need to travel to Baghdad. Their completed applications will be forwarded by the Provincial (Governorate) Council, and carried via courier to the (main Passport Office) in Baghdad.
Al Yasiri said: 2,500 Passports are issued daily and 5,000-10,000 passport applications are received daily in Baghdad (this does not include the other governorates). Previously, the Passport office had been issuing between 800 Passports per day. Al Yasiri admitted that there has been corruption in the Passport Office; but, many of the “corrupted people” have either been transferred or fired. Therefore, we have recruited 300 new employees, who recently graduated from universities… but, after three months some of them (the new hires) have started to become corrupt.
Finally, Al Yasiri said: the Type-G Passport is difficult to forge; false Type-G’s are easy to spot; because, there is (a hidden) serial number which only a few technicians know about… and the validity of the Passport can be checked throughout the world via machine (bar-code reader). We are working to emplace more extreme security specifications; we will include [build an electronic database of]: signatures, fingerprints, and photographs.
Al Yasiri added that “extreme measures” will be instituted next month, in order to prevent the “forgery” of “Type-G” Iraqi Passports. He continued: the law states that Iraqi Passports should “first be issued in Baghdad” where there is a database of “wanted” people. Iraq’s embassies abroad do not yet have access to this database.
Al Yasiri also said: my office has not sent any “Type-G” Iraqi Passports to Iraq’s embassies abroad… but, we have sent many (Passport Office) officers and application to the embassies. These applications will be filled out and compiled inside the embassies. (When an embassy has compiled 1,000 completed applications) they will be forwarded to Baghdad via (diplomatic) courier.
Al Yasiri continued: the Cabinet has approved the increasing of the number of “Type-G Passport-making” devices [the government has authorized buying more machinery]. Soon, twenty of these devices will be sent to Iraqi Embassies abroad. In June, some of the devices will be sent to: Kurdistan, Basrah, and Amman (Jordan).
By the end of this year, Iraq will have witnessed “a revolution” in the Passport issuance process. Once the devices are distributed the citizens in other governorates will no longer need to travel to Baghdad. Their completed applications will be forwarded by the Provincial (Governorate) Council, and carried via courier to the (main Passport Office) in Baghdad.
Al Yasiri said: 2,500 Passports are issued daily and 5,000-10,000 passport applications are received daily in Baghdad (this does not include the other governorates). Previously, the Passport office had been issuing between 800 Passports per day. Al Yasiri admitted that there has been corruption in the Passport Office; but, many of the “corrupted people” have either been transferred or fired. Therefore, we have recruited 300 new employees, who recently graduated from universities… but, after three months some of them (the new hires) have started to become corrupt.
Finally, Al Yasiri said: the Type-G Passport is difficult to forge; false Type-G’s are easy to spot; because, there is (a hidden) serial number which only a few technicians know about… and the validity of the Passport can be checked throughout the world via machine (bar-code reader). We are working to emplace more extreme security specifications; we will include [build an electronic database of]: signatures, fingerprints, and photographs.
Labels: forgery, General Yasin Al Yasiri, Type G Passports
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Iraqi Type S passports to be recognised in Jordan till September
Travel
(Al Mada Newspaper) - 2 MAY - The Jordanian government decided to keep working with Iraqi Type S Passports until September. Saad Al Hayani, Iraqi Ambassador in Jordan, announced, “Last May, the Jordanian government decide to cancel officially recognizing the Iraqi Type S Passport in June [2007]. However, the Iraqi government submitted a request to the Jordanian government to allow for Iraqi Type S Passports to be recognized by Jordan until September.”
The Iraqi Ambassador added, “The number of Iraqis living in Jordan reached more than 700,000. We need an extension of time to issue the new Type G Passports. The procedure for issuing a new passport in Jordan for Iraqis takes about a month to process the paperwork through Baghdad before a new one is issued.” Al Hayani added, “All Iraqis need the new Type G Passport because all of them have types N, M, and S passports which can not be used since 2006. There are five types of passports used in Iraq. Two types were used during the former regime. Types N and S were used under Saddam and these passports contained his picture but no one has been able to use them since 2006.
Labels: Iraq, Jordan, Saad Al Hayani, series S passports, Type G Passports
