This is how the head of the passport office in Oslo explains why those who are only going to pick up passports, like to have to wait in line all day – and what the police are doing to remedy the chaos.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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Corona infection is under control, borders open. 450,000 Norwegian passports have been issued, most during the pandemic. This summer, everyone wants to go out and travel.
Since June last year, the demand for passports has been far higher than usual. At the same time, staffing has been gradually stepped up at the passport offices in Oslo and Bærum.
– Since last spring, we have recruited over 60 employees part-time and five full-time, says section chief for administration at the Oslo police district Elisabeth Lund to VG.
51 of the temporary employees still staff the counters in Greenland in Oslo and in Sandvika in Bærum, where many hundreds stand in line every day for passports or national ID cards.
–In the last year, the opening hours have been gradually extended. From 2 May, applicants are dispatched until 11 pm on weekdays. The passport office in Oslo is also open until 4 pm on weekends.
– At the police station in Greenland, we have 14 counters at our disposal. On Wednesday, everyone was open until 20.30. In the last few hours, fewer counters were serviced, says Lund.
– High demand
In the first four months of the year, the Oslo Police District has issued close to 69,000 passports and national ID cards. The corresponding figure in the normal year 2019, before the pandemic, was approximately 36,000.
– There is a lot going on. Waiting time must be expected, both for pick-up, appointment booking and emergency pass, says the section chief at the Oslo police district.
The fact that it takes at least seven weeks to obtain a passport is not only due to the large demand, but first and foremost the long delivery time for electronic chips and plastic and paper components for passports.
–She states that 300 passports come to the passport office in Greenland every day and must be picked up. About half come as a result of priority delivery from other police districts.
– We do not have a system that makes it possible to book an appointment to pick up a passport. Everyone has to draw a queue. We must prioritize those who have an imminent journey.
More are asked to pick up
Lund says that it usually takes ten minutes to hand out a passport.
When VG on Tuesday talked to people in the queue in Greenland, was several very stated over that they had to wait for many hours just to get their passport out.
– Normally we send passports and national ID cards in the mail. Since there is now a longer delivery time due to lack of raw materials, many more are asked to pick up the passport.
Lund explains that the delivery task is much larger than usual due to long delivery times – and is in addition to a fully booked calendar with applicants.
– As many as we can
– Why do not you put in more employees to hand out passports?
– We put in as many as we have available and the opportunity to, without it affecting other important tasks such as ordinary application processing and emergency passports.
Lund says that they must provide training on passports and IDs, if others than those employed in the front line at the passport office are to perform the tasks.
– We are working intensively to get this in place, says the head of administration.
–She says that the employees spend more time on each applicant than usual.
– There is a need to provide good guidance to each individual customer about delivery times. Many also have questions about the difference between passports and national ID cards, says Lund.
Travel ID cards can be used to cross borders in the EU and EEA countries – they thus function as passports in most countries in Europe. The waiting time is shorter to get an ID card.
Will limit emergency passes
Many who do not have time to get an ordinary passport before departure, apply for an emergency passport.
– It usually takes about 30 minutes to issue an emergency passport. At times, we have two counters open for this purpose, says Elisabeth Lund.
From the weekend, the Police Directorate will tighten the possibilities for obtaining emergency passports.
Today you can apply for an emergency passport if it is seven days or shorter until you travel. Or if you have not received the ordinary passport ten days after you received the SMS that it was on its way.