New Passport Fees Effective June 01

The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) wishes to announce new passport fees as well and the introduction of expedited services, effective June 01, 2015 as given in Gazette Notice No 25B dated April 20, 2015.

The current passport fee was introduced in 2009 and the new fee seeks to cover inflation and the movement in the exchange rate over the period.  The new fees will provide the Agency with the necessary funding to employ more Immigration Officers and other staff as well as offer some technological improvements and space requirements for customers and staff. It is noted that while the Agency has made considerable gains to fully cover all its operational costs, it is only staffed at 70%   for permanent employees. Additionally a considerable portion of the technological inputs for its services are quoted in foreign exchange. In order to fulfil its mandate of border security, the staffing levels and use of technology are necessary and become even more important in light of current international threats.

The Agency has to be completely self-sufficient in this financial year as it will receive no funding from the Consolidated Fund.

The price of a regular adult passport will move from $4,500 to $6,500 while the passport for a minor will move from $2,700 to $4000. There will be adjustment to other services which are outlined in the Table below.

Importantly the Agency will introduce a SAME DAY service at its headquarters at 25 Constant Spring Road, arising from the request of many customers. Another new service will be expedited services of seven and five days at its regional office and outposts in Montego Bay, St Anns Bay, Portmore, May Pen and Mandeville. The regular service at those customer service points is currently 14 and 11 days.

Over the years the Agency has met it customer service promise of providing passport in seven (7) working days and in the last financial year met this target 99%.

Despite the space constraints, the Agency has built two air conditioned facilities at its headquarters at 25 Constant Spring Road in Kingston in order to provide a better level of comfort to applicants.

Other developments include:

• The introduction of  a SIMPLIFIED application process for  some adult renewals in May 2014
• The tracking of a passport application on its website
• The introduction of a more tamper proof passport book in 2013
• Introduction and use of an electronic queuing system to better manage customer flow at headquarters at Constant Spring Road

PICA also wishes to announce that based on feedback from the diaspora, fees will also be quoted in Canadian dollars and the Euro.

The Jamaican passport is still a secure book as it meets the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

New Fees – May 26,2015

The following services will be offered at PICA Headquarters only:

The prices of the following services remain the same; however, next-day processing is also available at the additional cost specified:

1. 1.    Emergency Certificate      –        $2,500
2. 2.    Seaman Certificates                   –        $3,000
3. 3.    Travel Permit                             –        $4,000 (adult)  and $3,000 (minor)

NEW SERVICES

SAME DAY – Headquarters only

Expedited services – Outposts