Daccanomics
Bangladesh has taken another significant step in its digital transformation with the much-anticipated launch of electronic passports or e-passports.
But since the launch people are facing a lot of trouble trying to get a hand on the E-passport. From faulty machinery to know nothing officials, people are going through a lot of hassle.
Getting your hand on your passport is quite difficult. Sometimes it can take months to get your passport ready.
Especially, when it comes to MRP passport it can take up to 3 months before you get your passport.
Although it would take less than 21 days to deliver.
The passport delivery time and passport status have been one of the biggest issues with both Machine-readable passport (MRP) and E-passport.
Many people are facing the same problem. Now that the Government has started handing out E-passport, the process is taking much longer than expected.
Also, with E-passport people are facing various problems while ordering a new passport. You can’t apply for an E-passport using your birth certificate.
You need to have your NID card to apply for E-passport. Delivery time for E-passport is comparatively faster than MRP passport. The average delivery time is 18 days for E-passport.
But sometimes it can take longer than that.
If you want your passport quickly you need to order a passport using express delivery.
For emergency purposes, you can choose express delivery which should take 7 days according to the official government website. But Don’t get too excited.
When it comes to reality, it might even take two months for your passport to be issued.
If you are already frustrated with the delivery time and thinking to make a visit to your regional passport office let me save you the trouble. Just don’t.
Furthermore, there is no point to go and talk to the officials because the only answer they will give is ‘you will be informed when it is ready’.
Rather you can visit the official government website here and check your passport status yourself. All you will need is your birthdate and your Enrolment ID which you will get from the delivery slip.
Your enrollment id is given under the barcode on the top right corner of the delivery slip. Once you enter both these details you can see your passport status.
What does pending for passport personalisation means?
Pending for passport personalisation means that your passport is in the printing process. While it might take some time for you to get your passport, the average time for a passport to get printed in Bangladesh is 7-10 working days. Unfortunately, in reality, it will take much longer for your passport to get printed. Do not expect to get your passport before 1 month if you have chosen express delivery.
How long does it take for passport personalisation?
If you have entered the information correctly you can see that your status might show Pending for Passport Personalisation which means – your passport is under the printing Stage. The status is visible within 1 week of your submission.
This status is mainly visible when you have applied from the official website of Bangladesh Machine Readable Passport. It might take some time before you get your passport in your hand.
Getting your Passport Ready in 2021
If you have applied for your passport online, it can take some time to arrive. Now that the government started handing out e-passport it is better to have an e-passport rather than MRP passport.
There are lots of benefits of E-passport. The expiration date for E-passport can extent up to 10 years where MRP expires with 5 years.
The best part is, You can get quicker delivery when you order an E-passport. The process is quite similar to MRPpassport. You just need your NID to apply for an E-passport.
How To Check Your Passport Status In Bangladesh By SMS
The process of checking your passport status is very simple. There are two ways you can check your passport status. Either you can do it online or you can check your passport status through SMS. You can avoid all the trouble of going into the passport office and asking for your passport status. To help you out with the process we have shown both ways you can check your passport status in Bangladesh.
If you are looking to check your passport status from your phone through SMS you need to make sure you have enough balance to send an SMS and your Enrolment ID to track your passport status.
Follow the procedure below to check your passport status from your mobile through SMS.
- Enter Your Mobile SMS Option
- Type 6969 as The Recipient Number
- Type MRP (Space) Your Enrolment ID
You can get your Enrolment ID from the delivery slip. It is given under the barcode on the top right corner of the delivery slip. For example, if your EID is 232145600000143 then you should type your message as ‘MRP 232145600000143’ - Send your SMS and wait for the reply.
Once you send your SMS you will get a reply within a minute. If you do not get a reply, it means the SMS you have sent is not delivered properly.
Passport Personalization Process In Bangladesh
Mainly Pending for Passport Personalisation status need to go through a series of activity. Which are given below
- Laser Engraving
- HD DOD Colour Inkjet Printing
- Security Lamination
- Inline Quality Control (optical/electronic)
- RFID Encoding
Most of the time our passport is delayed because there is no lead time for:
- Quality control (checking the data is machine-readable or not).
- Preparation for dispatch
- Transportation
- Information Entry etc.
- Delay due to rush.
Here are some important links that can help you through the whole process
- How to apply for E-passport: https://epassport.gov.bd/instructions/five-step-to-your-epassport
- E-passport application status check: https://epassport.gov.bd/authorization/application-status
- How to apply for Machine-readable passport: http://www.passport.gov.bd/Default.aspx
- Machine-readable passport application status check: http://www.passport.gov.bd/OnlineStatus.aspx
- Passport Office Contact: http://www.passport.gov.bd/Contact.aspx
- FAQ for E-passport: https://epassport.gov.bd/landing/articles/faq
You can also call on this number for any further query (02-8123788) or send an email to inquiry@passport.gov.bd
You can also call 333 for any assistance and information about your passport application
