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The government will in two weeks’ time open two more passport offices, bringing to seven the total number of passport offices in the country. 

In a move that is intended to improve service delivery, Arua and Jinja will be brought on board to serve the West Nile region, while Jinja will supplement the Mbale office in bringing services closer to people in Eastern Uganda.

Currently, Ugandans in need of travel document services can only get them at the head offices in Kampala, Mbale, Mbarara, and Gulu.

Internal Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Simon Mundeyi, said in addition to local offices, the government plans to increase passports abroad, adding to the three in Washington, DC (United States of America), London (United Kingdom), and Pretoria (Republic of South Africa).

He revealed that in a bid to cater to Ugandans in places where there are no passport offices, temporary travel documents are now being availed to those whose passports are either lost, phased out, or expired to facilitate their travel back home.

“In countries where we don’t have embassies or passport offices, please go to the passport office of that country and that country will offer you a one-way travel document to be able to return home,” he said, adding, “We hope to open more passport offices in many of those countries and we shall ensure that we reach every Ugandan wherever they are.”

He added that services in passport offices at home and abroad have been significantly improved to bring them up to par with international standards.

He was speaking during the weekly security briefing on Monday at the Uganda Police Force headquarters in Naguru, Kampala.

International air travel standards require all flight passengers to have valid passports, regardless of age.