Romanian interior minister wants to extended validity of passports

The Romanians aged over 25 could have passports that are valid for 10 years. Interior minister Carmen Dan announced that she has initiated a bill to increase the validity of passports from five to ten years for people aged over 25. The measure comes as a solution to the high number of passport applications registered during summer months. “It is true that, during the summer, we are talking about two or three months when the number of applications for passports increases, with the growth being of 80-90%, or even double in some counties. Specifically, we are talking about processing 11,000 – 12,000 requests per day,” Carmen Dan said at local TV station Antena 3, reports local News.ro. “Unfortunately, it is not possible to double the number of staff or the number of offices at this time. The staff shortage is also felt in this area.” However, the authorities have taken other measures to solve this problem, such as longer working hours for the staff working at the offices that release passports. Moreover, some offices across the country are also opened on weekends. Almost 1.19 million passport requests were filled with Romanian authorities last year, a 24% increase year-on-year and a 42% increase compared to 2010, according to data from the Romanian Interior Affairs Ministry (MAI). The number covers both regular electronic passports and temporary ones. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com