Zambia's government has introduced an online passport application system, marking a significant milestone in Zambia's digital transformation journey.

 The online passport application and payment system has been fully developed and is now operational on the government online service bus called Zamportal.

The system enables citizens to apply for passports and travel documents from anywhere, anytime, leveraging the Government Service Bus platform.

This initiative aligns with the government's broader digital agenda, implemented through the Smart Zambia Institute and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, aimed at promoting efficient and citizen-centric service delivery.

The bus provides a secure, reliable, and user-friendly electronic service platform, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of government services.

The previous manual process was labour-intensive, resulting in long queues, high transport costs, and lost productivity, particularly for applicants from remote and far-flung areas.

To address these challenges, the Zambian Government commissioned a project in 2022 to digitalise passport services, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing administrative burdens.

 " As I indicated, this system will allow applicants to complete the process of the application from the comfort of their homes. Including tracking the status of their applications in real time and chosing their preferred mode of passport collection." 

They include the actual application for a Zambian Passport, Diplomatic as well as for a Refugee Travel Document.

Others are application for a COMESA Laisser Passer  and application for a Travel Document of Identity.

However, the manual applications will continue to run concurrently during this transition, until such a time, it is fully phased out.