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. Sunday Mail
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