Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia may have to wait longer than usual to receive their e-passports as the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh carries out additional verification and institutional processing of applications.

The embassy issued the notice on its official Facebook page on Thursday (3 September), citing a sharp rise in demand for e-passport services among Bangladeshi expatriates in the kingdom.

According to the notice, the embassy previously processed biometric enrolment for around 11,000 passport applications on average each month. However, as part of a special initiative, biometric data for more than 65,000 applications have been collected over the past one and a half months.

Of these applications, 15,434 passports have already been printed and delivered to applicants, while 25,467 are currently at the printing stage. Another 21,678 applications are undergoing necessary processing following biometric enrolment.

Meanwhile, biometric enrolment is also under way for another 15,200 applications as part of a nine-day special service camp being conducted in the Dammam region.

The embassy said delays in issuing passports were mainly caused by incorrect information in some applications, discrepancies between application details and information in national identity cards or online birth registration records, and complications arising from applicants holding multiple passports.

Such administrative and technical discrepancies require additional verification, making the overall process more time-consuming, it said.

Against this backdrop, the embassy urged expatriate Bangladeshis to remain patient and assured them that all-out efforts were being made to expedite and streamline e-passport services.