The Department of Immigration and Emigration has decided not to issue passports to applicants who do not possess the new National Identity Card (NIC), Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Harsha Ilukpitiya said.
A large number of applicants are known to produce NICs that are several decades old and the affixed photograph differs largely with the colour photo produced with the relevant documents needed to obtain a passport, he said.
He said this practice has put the Immigration and Emigration Department in a dilemma since the old NICs are disfigured to an extent where even the numbers are not visible.
He said that 523 cases of fake passports had also been reported to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) by the Police and airport authorities during the past two years.
