Emergency travel: New document in the pipeline
The Department of Immigration and Emigration is preparing to phase out the use of Non-Machine Readable Passports (NMRPs) currently issued to Sri Lankans abroad in emergency situations and replace them with a new machine-readable system.Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Chaminda Pathiraja confirmed that the initiative had already received Cabinet approval and would be formally rolled out once system adjustments were completed.
The new documents will be issued under the title ‘Emergency Certificates.’
“We are introducing a new system for Sri Lankans needing temporary travel documents to return to the country. The current NMRPs do not fully comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations. We have obtained Cabinet approval to introduce a new system, which we will call Emergency Certificates,” Pathiraja said.
As part of the transition, foreign missions have been instructed to return excess stocks of old NMRP booklets. Although the new system has not been introduced yet, the department is working with service providers to develop a machine-readable temporary passport that meets ICAO requirements.However, it is learnt that some Sri Lankan foreign missions, particularly ones in capitals where there is a high volume of migrant labour, are experiencing challenges working with a small stock of NMRPs at hand in the missions until the new system is introduced.
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