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Sunday Mail Reporter
GOVERNMENT has legalised the payment of emergency passports in foreign currency for those with free funds following the amendment of the Exchange Control Act which provides for the exclusive use of the Zimbabwean dollar for domestic transactions.
This comes after the authorities gave the Civil Registry Department the green light to charge passport application fees in foreign currency for Zimbabweans living outside the country.
The Civil Registry Department is currently battling to clear a passport backlog of over 350 000 citing lack of foreign currency to import material needed to make the travel document.
According to the Exchange Control (Exclusive Use of Zimbabwe Dollar for Domestic Transactions) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (No. 1) published Friday, it is now legal to pay for an emergency passport in foreign currency.
Reads part of the amendment: “Payment for emergency passports, that is the payment out of free funds (as defined in section 2 of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1996) of any fee for the issuance of passport within 24 hours of the fulfilment of the requirements for such issuance by the person in whose name the passport is to be issued”
The Civil Registry Department has pegged emergency passport application fee at US$318 and locals have also been taking advantage of the facility.
Online Reporter