Author: Obaj Okuj | Published: 2 hours ago
Students at Juba Day Secondary School. Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio.
The Directorate of Civil Registry, Immigration, Nationality, and Passports has said hat pupils and students sitting for this year’s national examinations will be given priority in processing nationality certificates and personal identity cards.
The announcement follows confirmation that passport and nationality booklets are now available after months of shortages that had delayed issuance.
Speaking to the media in Juba, Major General Elia Costa, Director General of the Directorate, said the department has received regular passports, diplomatic passports, and nationality cards, and will begin issuing them from Monday to applicants who have completed their documentation.
“We are going to give priority to the students, the students who are going for scholarships, the students who are abroad, and the sick people,” Major General Costa said.
“Those people, we are going to start giving them passports. The same thing also for nationality – we are going to start with the students who are going to sit for P8 and Senior 4 this year. That is the time for them to come and process their documents so that they can be ready for their exams.”
Major General Costa also announced the official launch of the national personal identity card, describing it as a key document for daily services, including banking, police matters, and court procedures.
“We are here also to declare for our people that from today onwards, we are starting to issue the ID card, the ‘Budagaat-shakhsia’ personal card,” he said.
“ID cards are very important for everybody. Whether you are going to court, the police, or the bank, the ID contains detailed personal information, including your place of work, residence, blood group, and full name. From today, we are going to start issuing them, and we have already issued some.”
Major General Costa revealed that the first batch of ID cards has already been issued to President Salva Kiir, the First Lady, and the Inspector General of Police. He added that the ID cards will be available to all South Sudanese aged 18 years and above, and will gradually replace the use of nationality certificates.
