Errors and shortages of raw materials affect the production of Norwegian passports and ID cards. Unacceptable, says Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl.
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The company Thales supplies passports to a number of countries, including Norway. The Norwegian Police Directorate (POD) has received information from Thales that there is an increased error rate in the production of passports in addition to a shortage of raw materials for passport books.
The reason is, among other things, a global shortage of raw materials for production as a result of the pandemic and the war in Europe.
This results in reduced capacity at Thales. This applies in Norway and in several European countries.
Thales can pr. now does not give a full answer on what is wrong and what can be done to remedy the challenges, but is in dialogue with POD about how this challenge should be handled in the future.
– The government believes it is unacceptable if many Norwegians are left without the opportunity to identify themselves with a passport or ID card for a long time, and expects Thales to implement measures as soon as possible, says Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl.
The government is taking the situation seriously, and Mehl has summoned Thales to an emergency meeting to find out how they intend to handle this.
Many will renew their passports
After two years of pandemic, many Norwegians have to renew their passports, and the desire to travel is great.
– At the beginning of March, I informed the Norwegian Police Directorate to implement measures to quickly reduce the waiting time to obtain a passport, Mehl says.
Among other things, the passport offices have extended their opening hours throughout the evening and on weekends. It has now become easier for people to get pass time.
At the same time, the POD was commissioned to eventually consider the reopening of several passport offices that were closed down under the previous government, to ensure a shorter travel route and better accessibility for people throughout the country.
POD: Expect gradually longer waiting time
Aftenposten has asked the Police Directorate about the waiting time in the individual police districts for appointments at the passport offices.
POD does not have an overview of this. The districts are already in the process of laying out many thousands of new hours in the appointment booking solution in the future. It should make it easier to find free time to order passports or ID cards, according to the POD.
When it comes to waiting time for a passport or ID card from the time you have been at the passport office until the passport is ready, the waiting time is 6-7 days per week. Today.
POD expects that the waiting time will gradually be longer in the future when the number of orders exceeds the supplier’s capacity. They will follow developments closely.
– We will do everything in our power to find solutions and will get back to this as soon as we can, says department director Bjørn Vandvik in POD.
Forecasts are being prepared. One uncertainty is whether more or fewer will apply for passports or ID cards in the future. We are working to find various measures to solve the public’s need for passports, he says.
Large backlog of applications
The government expects Thales to find a solution to the problems as quickly as possible, and POD is looking at emergency solutions if this should affect the delivery time over a longer period of time.
There is already a large backlog of passport applications after two years of pandemic.
– The situation is serious and we have worked to increase the capacity of the passport offices in the police districts to meet the wave of applicants, says Bjørn Vandvik.
Especially after February 24, there has also been an extra demand for passports in many countries as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Affects the whole world
Lack of raw materials and subsequent production problems is not a problem that only affects Norway, but the whole world. In addition, the manufacturer has capacity problems when it comes to the production of the national ID cards.
This is new information for the police, and per. now it is not possible to say anything concrete about when the situation will improve. The police are working fully in dialogue with the supplier and the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness to try to find solutions that will be able to improve the situation, the press release states.
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