Passport photo dilemma
Dear Editor,
I am trying to renew my Jamaican passport from Florida and so photos are necessary.
I asked a clergy colleague to help me find a good place to get this done asap, and he promptly told me of the hassle he has had since the 1980s finding even a professional photo studio that does not refuse to do Jamaican passport photos.
Interestingly, he pointed out, all the studios have the same complaint: Jamaican regulations for passport photos are too fussy.
My colleague found an online studio, which listed pricing for passport photos at US$40, Canadian $60 (with a note that the Canadians are “very strict”), UK $75, and other countries $100. I called the studio and asked if they do photos for Jamaican passports, and the lady who answered said, bluntly, no. So I asked why and she gave the standard “too fussy” reason my colleague had mentioned.
Consider the problems (cost and time) of rejected photos, returned passport applications, and you begin to appreciate the frustration of Jamaicans living abroad.
My colleague and I began wondering what’s behind the strictures concerning our homeland’s fussiness or stricter standards than even the Canadians’. There must be a reason unknown to us.
Could someone educate us and the general public, please. I hope I can find a place that will do the photos before our Lord’s return.
Rev Clinton Chisholm
clintchis@yahoo.com