Hundreds request appointments for electronic passports

Just one day after the appointment application process for the issuance of the new electronic passport opened, a large number of people scheduled their appointment to acquire the document, according to Rocío Quirós, head of communications at the General Directorate of Passports (DGP).

This first phase of the new system began last Thursday the 15th and is available to citizens applying for a passport for the first time, those with expired documents, those who have six months of validity remaining, as well as those who require renewal due to loss or damage of the document.

Data collection for the issuance of the new document will begin on February 19 at the institute’s headquarters, located on John F. Kennedy Avenue at the corner of Fernando Alberto Defilló, in the Los Prados sector.

According to Quirós’ statements, for the moment the management of the new document is being worked on only in the central office, and he explained that the implementation of the new system will be implemented gradually in the operations centers nationwide, with the goal of covering the entire National District by June.

Among the most striking new features of the new document is the inclusion of a repatriation service with coverage of up to nine thousand dollars for citizens who die within the country.

It contains more than 130 security features such as invisible inks, microtext and optically variable images, making it compatible with modern immigration control systems.

The cost of issuing it is RD$6,700, that is, RD$1,050 more than the current rate.

The new passports will have an extended validity of 10 years for adults, and five years for those under 18 years of age.

Quirós also explained that both passports, the mechanical (current) and the electronic (new), will coexist at the same time until the citizenship renewal process is completed, which could take years to carry out in its entirety.

Change of location of the institution

In other news, regarding the new location of the DGP, the communications director indicated that the old building, located on George Washington Avenue, will continue to function as an operations office, although it is currently being remodeled to improve the space where citizens are received.

He also noted that part of the space occupied by the administrative offices was given to the Directorate of Migration Control, which was previously located in the same building.