Gen. Costa: Plans underway to extend passport validity to 10 years

2026-01-30 - 08:49

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) – The Directorate of Civil Registry, Passports, Immigration, and Nationality (DCRNPI) is seeking to double the lifespan of South Sudanese passports, a move revealed in an exclusive interview with Eye Radio. Maj. Gen. Elia Costa Castino, the Director of Immigration and Passports, disclosed that the department has initiated formal steps to transition from the current five-year validity to a ten-year standard. The Director stated that the move aims to align South Sudan with international travel standards and the growing global trend of decade-long document validity. Maj Gen Costa outlined a specific administrative and legal roadmap that the proposal must follow before it becomes a reality. The process involves multiple levels of government oversight: He stated that a formal memorandum has already been prepared and submitted to the Office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and then the IGP, the proposal moves to the Minister of Interior, who is responsible for vetting the policy. The Director said that the Minister of Interior will then present the memorandum to the Council of Ministers for executive endorsement, and then the final proposal must be passed by the National Legislative Assembly to amend the legal framework, because the current five-year limit is enshrined in existing law. The Director emphasized that South Sudan is seeking to catch up with international norms, noting that most countries have already transitioned to 10-year documents to ease the administrative burden on both the state and the citizens. “We know that the whole world has moved its passports from five years to ten years,” Maj Gen Castino told Eye Radio. “We are working on the memorandum now. Because the five years are written in the law, the final step goes up to the Assembly. We are working on it.” If approved, the extension is expected to reduce the frequency of renewals for South Sudanese travelers and align the country with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations for biometric travel documents.