The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security has announced that the use of national identity cards as travel documents between Namibia and Botswana has been extended to three additional border posts.
The two countries signed a Memorandum of Agreement and launched the use of national ID cards as travel documents for the citizens of both countries at the Trans-Kalahari/Mamuno Border Post in February this year.
The ministry in a media statement on Tuesday announced that ID cards can also be used at the Ngoma, Impalila Island and Mohembo border posts with immediate effect.
“To use the national identity card as travel document to Botswana, Namibians are advised to apply for the new-look ID, launched by the ministry in October 2021,” the ministry’s Executive Director, Etienne Maritz was quoted as saying in the statement.
The new-look ID features a quick response code and a machine-readable zone, which have replaced the fingerprint and the previous ID cards. The new format complies with international best practice recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The ministry noted that the use of ID cards as travel documents will make border crossing easier, especially for border residents. For now the national ID can only be used as a travel document to visit Botswana, it added.
Source: NAMPA