Kantha advices people to apply for passports

CHIEF Migration Officer Solomon Kantha says locals should apply for passports in advance for overseas travels and for identification.
Kantha told The National yesterday in Port Moresby that many locals needed to travel overseas for jobs, studies, sports or for leisure.
“Obtaining a passport is quite a lengthy process. So it would be advisable to apply for one early so that overseas travel will be without any delay due to passport issues,” he said.
“Passport also serve as a form of identity and can be used locally or internationally to identify a person. It however does not mean that one should not apply for a National Identity card (NID) when one has a passport.
“A passport does not replace a NID card. Every PNG citizen has to have a NID card. The passport apart from international travel can become an identity for a person.”
He said there were more than 200,000 Papua New Guineans who had passports and the number was growing each year.
Kantha and Minister for Immigration and Border Security Petrus Thomas handed out passports and citizenship certificates to 40 foreigners who have become PNG citizens.