The Ministry of Economy and Labour is pleased to advise that the Department of Immigration (DOI) has resumed processing passport applications.
Unfortunately, there were over 450 outstanding passport applications that were in process just before the recent cyber-attack, which prevented system access and the complete processing of these applications. While the systems were down, passport applications could not be processed.
Despite being unable to access any systems, the Department of Immigration continued to process emergency medical passport applications, and staff members reviewed new applications for completeness and provided guidance to ensure completeness so they could be submitted once the systems became operational again.
The required systems are now back online, and the processing of applications is a priority. To support the processing of these passports, over the past two weeks, the Department of Immigration has been recruiting, and two new members will be joining the passport team.
Regrettably, while progress is underway, the Department of Immigration can advise that until the application backlog returns to normal levels, the processing timeline may take up to 20 weeks.
Emergency passports are available; however, due to limited physical book stocks, they are issued only when the applicant must travel overseas for urgent medical reasons. The application guidelines for emergency passports are available online at gov.bm/department/immigration.
Individuals urgently needing a passport for non-medical reasons are advised to apply for a British Passport to avoid delays.
The Ministry understands and appreciates these delays impact Bermudians' ability to plan and book travel and can assure the public that the Department of Immigration remains committed to the task and asks for the public's patience and understanding as they work to complete the processing of passports as soon as possible.