Immigration to receive 100,000 passport books under new Budget

The Government will procure 100,000 passport books in the next financial year as part of efforts to ensure passport shortages become a thing of the past.

The initiative is funded through the Ministry of Immigration's $14.8 million allocation in the 2026-2027 National Budget, which includes $5 million for the procurement of passport books.

Although the ministry's overall allocation has fallen by $3 million from last year's $17.8 million, Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto said the reduction reflected the completion of major groundwork for the ministry's modernisation programme during the previous financial year.

He said the current Budget would focus on implementing key projects, including passport procurement and digital border management systems.

The latest Budget provides $5 million to purchase 100,000 passport books, compared with $6 million allocated for 200,000 passport books in the previous Budget.

"We want to make sure that the passport shortage is a thing of the past," Mr Naupoto said.

He said the ministry would also continue rolling out the Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems, together with the MERIT system being developed with support from Australia.

The systems are expected to strengthen border security and pave the way for the future introduction of e-gates at airports.

The Budget also allocates $225,000 to combat human trafficking and strengthen compliance with national and international standards.

Mr Naupoto said protecting migrant workers remained a key responsibility as the number of foreign workers entering Fiji continued to increase.

"It is important that we deal with human trafficking, making sure that they are not exploited," he said.

Despite the lower allocation, Mr Naupoto said immigration services would continue to expand, with new offices planned for Nakasi and Rakiraki to improve public access to services.