PICA Adjust Procedures to Safeguard Passport

In an effort to make the Jamaican passport more secure and to tighten any loopholes for identity theft, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) will now require that persons submitting an application on behalf of an applicant take along a certified authorization letter signed by the applicant.

Formerly, a person could submit an application for another person without presenting an ID or a letter of authorization from the applicant. On the other hand, they were, and are still required to present these documents when collecting the passport on the applicant’s behalf.

The new policy means that a bearer will now have to present both the ID and letter of authorization when submitting the application and will continue to do so when collecting the passport.

In addition to the above, the Agency is reminding persons that pet names and other unofficial titles are not acceptable when applying for a passport. Only names that are recorded on a person’s birth certificate/Adoption Certificate/Certificate of Citizenship or deed poll will be accepted by the Agency.

PICA has been taking steps in recent times to safeguard the integrity of the Jamaican passport from tampering and fraud.

It’s most recent initiative, the Facial Recognition System (FRS), was introduced two years ago and has been effective in detecting persons who attempt to obtain a passport fraudulently.