The land in which the Southern Regional Office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration is to be developed has been handed over to the department.

The department is providing all of it’s services in Addu as of now as well, however the development of the new Southern Regional Office will bring a faster speed to the services being provided by the department. As such, it will reduce the time it takes to receive a new passport since printing the passports will also begin at the new office.

The department noted that a Northern Regional Office would be developed in Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi as the one in Addu City. Officers from the department will be traveling to the island in the coming week, to finalize land arrangements for the office. They also noted that all expenses have been arranged through the Finance Ministry.

The department further said that their main target is to finish construction works of the Northern and Southern offices by the end of 2015 and to provide faster and more efficient services to the citizens as soon as possible.7