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Liberia Launches New Biometric Passports
By: CeasefireLiberia Staff Reporter
A new biometric passport has been launched in Liberia that will replace the old. The new one will continue to be valid until April 30, 2010.
There will be four categories of new Liberian biometric passports: Diplomatic Passports will now have black covers; Ordinary Passports will have green covers; Service Passports with red covers; and the Official ones with brown covers.
The Constitution of Liberia provides for the free movement of every Liberian citizen, and it entitles every Liberian a Liberian passport. All Liberians are entitled to ordinary passports without discrimination while Official, Diplomatic and Service passports are special privileged passport our source explained.
According to Liberia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Olubanke King-Akerele, the new biometric Liberian passports are being introduced in order to put Liberia on par with all other countries the world over to meet the global requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Compliant Machine Readable Passports.
Minister King-Akerele, speaking at the official launch of the Machine Readable ICAO Compliant Liberian National Passports said Liberians should begin processing their new application requests for the new passports now because it is being used at any port of entry worldwide.
“You will not be able to enter any country’s point of entry by next year if you don’t obtain this new passport. So please begin processing your new passport requests,” the Minister said.
She said already, a number of data collection points are being set up at designated embassies around the world for the processing of the new Liberian passports and noted that applicants may continue to use their current passports until the data collection points are set up.
The current cost of the new machine readable ICAO compliant Liberian National Passport will be issued at the price of US$50, up US$30 from the current fees charged.
But providing some background information as to how the price of the new passport came about, Minister King-Akerele said there was an agreement for the current Liberian national passport that was signed between the Republic of Liberian and Bradwell Group in London, United Kingdom in 1997 to produce the various categories of passports.
“Accordingly, we have had to set the price for the new passports to take into account the financial obligations that we are faced with. Obligations that were not the doing of the current government but we met and we have to oblige and meet those requirements,” she stated.
Minister King-Akerele said her Ministry had to work out a system in terms of the cost of the passports that has brought the price to US$50 for the new passports, including the fingerprinting.
The new Ordinary Passports will be valid for five years while the new Diplomatic and Official Passports shall be issued for two years, consistent with existing guidelines , and the Service Passports shall be issued for one or two years, depending on the mission for which they are being issued.
The new passports will take about seven to 14 working days to process. When the passports need to be renewed, one will need to complete a new application form and a new passport will be issued at the same price of US$50, instead of a renewal stamp. The Minister however, did not say what would happen to those Liberians currently residing abroad who already have the Old Liberian Passports that are yet to expire.
Meanwhile, Mrs. King-Akerele made it clear that Liberians abroad can no longer send their documents and have a passport processed by a relative or friend. She stressed that if a family member sends his/her passport it will not be processed because the applicant will have to be fingerprinted for the new Liberian passport. She said that the fingerprinting is to enhance security of the new Liberian passport.
Mrs. King-Akerele reiterated that the Liberian Government remains fully committed to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its Conventions and Protocols to which the government has played significant role in the signatory of.
She noted that part of those Convention and Protocols calls for the various ECOWAS countries to adopt the ECOWAS passports. Citing the sacrificial role ECOWAS has played in bringing peace to Liberia, she reminded the audience that Government is well aware of those obligations having been one of the first countries to launch the ECOWAS passports in 2007.
The ECOWAS biometric passport only costs US$23.
The Story was Originally Published on CeaseFireLiberia.com
Editor @ November 5, 2009
Dear my people of liberia we are the liberia who living out side from are country how do we have the new passport from the government.and for some us who have family in liberia,we think that the liberia governmet can permit the family to receiver.the son or daugster.passport for then.i will hope to hear from your soon.
thanks God bless the people of liberia
julius B.myers
dear sir/mme,
i am a liberian living in lebanon with my two children and wife.how can we obtain new passports?
looking forward to hear from you soon.
thank you.
jackson gbalay
pls put the passport on the net
I think the liberian government should be a little more accomodating, especially for those individuals who have purchased passports this year. This kind of governance is somewhat of a nuisance. I see why most people would want to leave.
Where is it a fair and just policy, that will allow a citizen to pay for a passport and in the same year have to pay for another. At minimum the individuals who have purchased a pasport within one year should pay the price diffference.
Who is responsible for such precarious policies? But more importantly, why are not the people demanding at least the minimum be done?
DEAR SIR/MADA,
AM WASHINGTON SNEH A LIBERIA WHO IS IN GHANA, PLEASE L WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW CAN I GET THE NEW PASSPORT TO TRAVEL TO SEOUL KOREA IS IT VISA FREE WITH KOREA COUNTRY PLEASE I WANT TO KNOW FROM NOW AND HOWEVER DID WE HAVE THE AMBASSY IN KOREA TO GET SOME OF US OUR DOCUMENT,
I CAN NOT SAY MUCH BUT HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU
IT WASHINGTON SNEH GATI.
dear sir,
thank for the goverment and am happy about that, sir l would like to know those liberian that born children outside how could them get the passport,for they are born children, as for me am liberian ghanaian and i want mychildren to use the lib passport is it possible for them to use it sir,
thank
Apply for a laisssez passer when travelling to Liberia. Then apply for your new passport while there. Now, LAISSEZ PASSER CAN ONLY BE USED IF YOU ARE FLYING DIRECT TO AN AFRICAN COUNTRY. IT ONLY GETS YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION. YOU CAN NOT RETURN TO THE US WITH A LAISSEZ PASSER. I tried everything a crocrogy can do to get a passport processed just to see if there is any hole left in the system, and did not see one…yet. This is a good thing, if only they will have as many data processing center as posible for the millions of Liberians out there who are always in and out of Liberia and around the world like myself. This see where this will take us.
dear sir/mme,
i am a liberian living in italy.how can i obtain the new passports?
looking forward to hear from you soon.
thank you.
Alfred Emmanuel
I can appreciate the Government of Liberia’s move to be more compliant, but how ridiculous is it that a Liberian living in the United States is unable to obtain a new Liberian passport short of paying almost $2000 to travel to Liberia to renew it. Imagine the financial strain if one had to then come out of pocket to purchase an additional ticket to travel elsewhere in the world. It is absolutely frustrating that our country is essentially inhibiting our ability to expand our horizons by traveling the world for recreation or work for that matter. I am so annoyed by this!
How can Liberians who live outside of Liberia get this new passport? I live in the USA., and I will be travelling to Liberia @ the end of 2010. How will I get My passport? I need answer.
I also support the new idea by our goverment about this plan.
MUSU KIAWU
Mazoelumeh@yahoo.com
03/23/2010
Dear Sir,
i came across your article through search engine. I will like to to draw your attention to the fact that the new Liberian Passport is in fact MACHINE READABLE PASSPORT AND NOT BIOMETRIC PASSPORT. The Liberian ECOWAS passport is BIOMETRIC AND MACHINE READABLE PASSPORT. Please check from the Ministry of Foreign Affair.
Thanks
Hi,
Thanks alot for the new passport and the effort of the government for controling and protecting the image of Liberian to the outside world.
There is one thing the present government have to understand and know that every Liberian outside dont have the finance to travel to Liberia to get their new passport.so enable every Liberian to obtain their passport Iam appealing to the government to please send the fingerprint machinc to the Liberian various embassies around the world like Asia.europe.America and others places where Liberian embassies are located.
All Liberian can not afford or can get money to go down there to get their passport.
My best regard
E.Jones
please dont even talk on that my dear bcus no one will spend thousand of dollars to just go monrovia to change passport.that ur coruption business ur doing in liberia.
You don’t run government like you are running your private business without the concern of the people.(1)passport design should be voted unpon by the citizens to get their view on how it should be.(2)check the population of those outside using the old passports before imposing any deadline on using the old ones not because government needs urgent money so the citizens should sufer.Liberians outside not being able to fly with the old passport after April 30 will creat for them overstay and become ilegal immigants which is criminal record and as a result,deportation.Is this how to govern your people.we Africans have to put our people first.Respect the right of your people.Justice and equality is what we need.Develop the mind first then the country will develop.
well, i want to say that it will be very unfair thing to do by asking somebody who is already residing abroad to come back home to obtain a new passport. the government have to address the issue
because not everybody will find it easy to come back home for the new passport due to flight cost
dear sir,i do appreciate the government of liberia by changing the national passport,but how can i obtain the new one while am living in france.
I like d current changes in Liberian Government,Based on the change in Liberian passport this is so annoying and embarrassing for the country and Liberian citizen outside the country,because we are facing embarassment in some port of entries which is not suppose to be,The foreign affairs minister did not talk about those that was having the old passport and that are outside the country,and due to the current economic situation happening worldwide,its will be unfair to travel down to Liberia, Am residing in the United States and the ticket price is not peanuts if u know what i mean, The ticket price cost $2,0000 or more,so pls be considerate with us. And do what is right so that the country can move forward positively. Thanks
I am a Liberian living in South Africa, The Liberian Embassy in Pretoria told to fly to Monrovia to apply for the new passport and i don’t have that amount. pls how can i get the new Liberia passport here in South Africa?