ADDIS ABABA – The Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) has surpassed its revenue target for the past six months of the current fiscal year, collecting 16.3 billion Birr, exceeding the planned 10 billion Birr.
This was revealed by ICS Director General Selamawit Dawit during a briefing for journalists yesterday.
Selamawit also revealed that the service issued passports to 701,871 (98%) of the 721,623 applicants, facilitated by the importation of 1,158,300 passport booklets. This includes 62,127 passports issued to Ethiopians residing abroad.
The ICS is actively working to improve urgent passport services to better serve its customers. To this end, the service has established branches in Dessie, Bahir Dar, Jimma, Adama, Dire Dawa, Hawassa, and Hosanna, specifically focusing on expediting the issuance of emergency passports. Currently, the service processes over 3,400 emergency passport applications daily across its headquarters and branches.
“ICS collaborates with 188 countries to facilitate visa applications for foreign nationals traveling to Ethiopia for tourism, conferences, and business purposes. In the past six months, we have processed entry visas for 3.3 million travelers entering Ethiopia through air, land, and sea borders,” Selamawit elaborated.
In the past six months, ICS issued 484,837 visas to customers, achieving 100% of its target. The institute also granted 14,367 temporary and permanent residential licenses to foreign nationals. Additionally, 23,628 Ethiopian origin identity cards and 20 citizenship certificates were issued. Furthermore, 19,862 refugees received emergency travel documents and blanket exit permits.
The Director General emphasized ICS’s plans to open 14 additional branches to expand service delivery, while simultaneously strengthening operations at the headquarters. To combat illegal activities, the service has held 13,322 individuals accountable for immigration-related offenses. In terms of civil registration, Selamawit stated that 1,597,393 (99.9%) of customers received their certificates in the past six months.
Furthermore, ICS is actively working to modernize its services by leveraging technology, enhancing employee capacity, recruiting new staff, and creating a conducive work environment.
Selamawit also emphasized that new passport applicants must strictly adhere to their appointment dates to provide fingerprints, photographs, and original supporting documents as required during the online application process.
BY MESERET BEHAILU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 16 JANUARY 2025
