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COVID-19: Immigration Directorate General temporarily limits passport application services
The Immigration Directorate General has limited passport application services until May 29.
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The Immigration Directorate General's passport application service is prioritizing medical workers and state officials tasked with picking up medical equipment abroad during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Shutterstock/File)
I
n consideration of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Immigration Directorate General has limited passport application services until the end of the emergency period on May 29.
The date was based on the National Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BNPB) declaration on March 18 of Indonesia's emergency disaster status, which had been extended until May.
The Immigration Directorate General will provide services only for certain applicants, namely people with an emergency medical condition who must receive treatment abroad based on their doctors’ recommendations and those with certain urgencies.
“[The latter] are medical workers or state officials [tasked with] picking up medical equipment abroad,” said Ahmad Nursaleh, head of public relations at the Immigration Directorate General, to kompas.com.
Read also: COVID-19: Indonesia suspends visa-free policy, expands ban for people from worst-hit countries
Additionally, online-based passport application services have also been temporarily halted. Those who hold queue numbers on Antrian Paspor Online (Online Passport Queue or APAPO) can still use their numbers when the service returns to normal.
“For those who have gotten their photos taken and wish to pick up their passports, we ask that they refrain from coming to the immigration office. We will keep the passports,” Ahmad said.
As of Tuesday, the government announced that the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had reached 2,738, with 221 fatalities. (wir/wng)
