Rwanda to switch to new East Africa E-Passport
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwanda's Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration on Thursday announced that all ordinary passports will be replaced by the newly introduced East Africa e-Passport by June 2021.
The official statement said for Rwandans, the holders of ordinary passports issued before 27 June last year will see their travel documents expire by June next year.
Rwandans can now start applying for the common East Africa e-passport, the statement added.
The e-passport is embedded with an electronic chip which will have biodata and biometric information of the holder, including the name, date of birth, and other biographic information.
By introducing the new electronic passport, Rwandan officials believe that a common single EAC bloc e-passport will boost cross-border travels and trade and further deepen East African Community (EAC) integration.
The EAC e-passport complies with guidelines set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, making it admissible globally.
Under the new format, the Diplomatic passport’s colour is red, the service passport is green while an ordinary passport is sky blue.
The outer front cover will have the words ‘East African Community’ in gold on top and the name of the issuing partner states will be pasted below.
The East Africa e-passport was officially launched during the 17th ordinary summit of the EAC heads of state in March 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania, where they directed the commencement of its issuance.
-0- PANA TWA/MA 13Aug2020
