The Immigration department is never short of complaints from the public pertaining to the issuance of passport and Identify Card (ID) to eligible applicants. The recent complaint being made is that it cannot produce or issue more than fifteen (15) passports a day to applicants.

When contacted, the immigration spokesperson, Superintendent Olimatou Jammeh Sonko, described the allegation as untrue and unfounded. She said her department has put a new mechanism in place to control the quantity of passports issued to applicants in a week. She indicated that the issuance of passports is in full swing. Spokeswoman Jammeh Sonko explains that sometimes applicants do not receive their passports quickly due to the high demand in passport application. She noted that there is time when the demand is so high that there is delay in granting interviews to applicants; and that the duration between submitting an application form and receiving the passport can take three weeks. Superintendent Jammeh Sonko pointed out that a new mechanism is put in place which may cause delays in granting interviews and receiving the passport; that now there are different days for submissions and interviews which some applicants failed to understand or honour. She concluded that her department is there to issue passports to Gambians and that their doors are wide open for applicants.