Interior Ministry presents plan to clear passport backlog

Israel’s passport crisis rumbles on with an average wait of nearly six months for an appointment to renew a passport. In some Population and Immigration Authority offices in the center of the country, there are no appointments available.

Consequently, MK Yakov Asher (United Torah Judaism), chairman of the Knesset Interior Committee, asked the Interior Ministry to present a plan to clear the backlog.

The current average waiting time for a new passport is 132 days in the northern region, 160 days in the southern region and 179 days in the central region. Many Israelis have taken out the far more expensive temporary passports issued at Ben-Gurion Airport or in Bnei Brak. Currently, 15% of all new passports being issued are temporary passports. Dual-nationality Israelis can travel abroad using their foreign passports until July 1, 2023.

Interior Ministry Director-General Ronen Peretz presented the plan to the Knesset Interior Committee on Thursday. According to the plan, staff at the Interior Ministry’s four major offices will work an extra shift from 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, with some employees being diverted from other services to devote their time to issuing passports.

A new center will also be set up by the Population and Immigration Authority to deal only with passport renewals, and production capacity at the factory that prints the passports will be increased. The Interior Ministry had considered working three shifts per day, but it was not currently possible for technical reasons.

The Interior Ministry has not yet reached agreement with the Finance

Ministry Budget Division over the extra money for the extra hours required or the Histadrut labor federation on the matter.

The current crisis began after the COVID crisis, when Israel’s skies were reopened and a large number of Israelis discovered their passports had expired. The Interior Ministry has been unable to hire extra staff, with few candidates available, and the factory that prints passports has been unable to keep up with demand.

Demand for new passports would be further increased by the US Visa Waiver Program, which is about to be implemented and will only be available to holders of the newer biometric passports, Population and Immigration Authority head of data systems Oren Ariav told the Knesset Interior Committee. The moment the waiver program comes into effect, there will be a wave of applications for biometric passports, he said. (Globes/TNS)