An urgent passport for an adult will cost US$650 while that of a child under 12 will cost S$400. An emergency travel document has been set at US$50, while forms will cost Z$4m.
Those who want emergency travel documents (ETDs) will now be asked to book in advance. The next booking day for ETDs in Bulawayo will be January 26, while for that urgent passports will be January 30.
The cost of replacing a passport will be US$400.
An ordinary passport is charged in both US dollars and local currency and the last increase was at the beginning of December. A normal adult passport costs US$120 and a child's passport is US$60. A passport form is US$20.
In Zimbabwean dollars, an adult ordinary passport has gone up from Z$500,000 to Z$200m and a child's passport has seen an increase from Z$350,000 to Z$160m.
An official at the passport office said the suspension of ordinary passports was due to shortage of material.
There is no paper to print passports so we can only entertain emergency cases ,which give us foreign currency. The only way to give everyone passports would be to charge a flat fee in forex, but that would embarrass the government, he said.
The passport offices in Gweru, normally besieged by large crowds, have been deserted as a result of the new fees.
Analysts said the move would encourage illegal border crossing as Zimbabweans were determined to run away from the economic hardships to seek food, medicines and other basic necessities in neighbouring countries. – Harare Tribune