As of Wednesday, December 11, 2019 adult customers who are renewing their passport will be able to do so without having to visit the offices of the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA).

This, as the Agency, introduces an online adult passport renewal application portal to provide customers with a more convenient option for renewing their identity document. Applicants using the service will also have their passports delivered directly to them wherever they are in the world courtesy of a partnership between PICA, DHL and Scotiabank.

The new system has even made the process of application simpler as

customers who renew online are no longer required to have their application

form and photograph certified by a Justice of the Peace or by any other

certifying official.

The service was launched on Wednesday (Dec 11) at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston and is available only to adults who are renewing their passports. Minors below age 18, first-time adult applicants and adults who were minors when they obtained their last passport cannot apply for their document online.

To use the system, customers will simply log on to PICA’s website at https://www.pica.gov.jm and begin the process. As with the manual process, the applicant will need their expired passport and Jamaican citizenship document, i.e. either a birth certificate, adoption certificate or citizenship certificate from which they will input the relevant document numbers onto the system.

The applicant will be further required to upload their photograph and make payment using a Visa, Master debit or credit card. They should also input their email address and telephone number to allow PICA customer service reps to communicate with them, should there be any concerns relating to their application.

The online adult passport renewal system will benefit PICA

customers in the Diaspora significantly as they will experience a drastic

reduction in the turn-around time for receiving their document. Previously,

Jamaicans, especially those living in rural areas and the Diaspora, would have

had to travel great distances or wait for long periods to have their passports

renewed. The new service has made such experiences a thing of the past.

Commenting on the development, PICA’s CEO, Andrew Wynter says he is delighted with the service adding that it is a fulfilment of a promise to continually improve on the quality of service that customers receive from the Agency.

According to Mr Wynter, “though efforts were made to make the passport application process more convenient through the introduction of a dropbox and courier service in December 2017, we soon realise that we could do more and quickly turned our attention to implementing the online service”.