Data discrepancies delay e-passport issuance for expats in Riyadh: Embassy

Bangladeshi expatriates living in Saudi Arabia might need to wait longer than usual to receive their e-passports due to information discrepancies requiring additional verification.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh issued a notice on Thursday explaining the delays in e-passport issuance.
It said the delays were mainly caused by incorrect information in some applications, discrepancies between application details and information in national identity cards or online birth registration records, and complications arising from applicants holding multiple passports.
The embassy also attributed the delays to the overwhelming volume of e-passport applications it received.
According to the notice, the embassy previously processed biometric enrolment for around 11,000 passport applications on average each month. However, as part of a special initiative, biometric data for more than 65,000 applications have been collected over the past one and a half months.
Of these applications, 15,434 passports have already been printed and delivered to applicants, while 25,467 are currently at the printing stage. Another 21,678 applications are undergoing the necessary processing following biometric enrolment.
Meanwhile, biometric enrolment is also under way for another 15,200 applications as part of a nine-day special service camp being conducted in the Dammam region.