PALU - The Immigration Office Class I TPI Palu, Central Sulawesi, issued 6,481 passports to the public in the period January to October 7, 2022.
"Although currently still during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public is quite enthusiastic about coming to process travel documents abroad," said Head of the Information and Communication Technology Section of the Palu Immigration Office, Danil Rachman, quoted by Antara, Sunday, October 9.
He explained that the public's enthusiasm for managing the passport documents was reflected in the average issuance of approximately 700 documents every month.
This increase is inseparable from the Indonesian government's policy which has allowed people to travel between countries, one of which is for the 2022 hajj pilgrimage which was attended by 903 worshipers from Central Sulawesi.
Of the 6,481 passport issuance, the Palu Immigration Office said that it was still dominated by applicants for Umrah pilgrimages, which recorded 2,403 passports were issued or around 37 percent.
"Meanwhile, passport applicants for learning purposes are around 4 percent or around 259 applicants, the rest are tourist destinations and others," said Danil.
Regarding the implementation of passports for 10 years, he said, this was regulated based on the Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights (Permenkumham) Number 18 of 2022. However, in its implementation, the Palu Immigration Office is still waiting for instructions for the implementation and technical instructions from the central government, he said.
"Despite the policy changes, passport services continue to run normally. We are still waiting for the implementing instructions. Of course, the government needs to prepare related mechanisms and regulations," said Danil.
The passport with a valid period of 10 years is applied only to residents aged 17 years and over or are already married, while for applicants under the age of 17 they will only receive a passport with a validity period of five years.
"In immigration services, we implement the M-passor system (register application online), Eazy Passport (collective passport application), and standby service (services for vulnerable groups who cannot go to the Immigration Office," said Danil Rachman.
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