South Sudan adds 5th passport category for business community

SOUTH SUDAN INTRODUCES NEW PASSPORT CATEGORY FOR BUSINESS COMMUNITY

(Posted 22^nd July 2013)

Information was received from a source in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city, that the government was set to launch an additional category of passports, especially designated for the business community.

Presently South Sudan has four  categories of passports, diplomatic, official, special – a category remaining rather obscure and undefined as to the user group – and those for citizens, ordinary citizens that is.

One of the requirements of obtaining the new passport is membership at the South Sudan Chamber of Commerce, but other criteria, according to the source, are required too before this passport type can be issued.

Among them is a clean police record, a company registration at least three years old, bank statements covering the period, evidence of tax payments and a recommendation, likely from the Chamber of Commerce.

‘I do not know the benefit of the new passport type. Those with regular passports already travel. I am not sure if there is any advantage when going to other countries and how they will recognize this category or when coming home to Juba. Maybe here they can get special immigration treatment but abroad, I am really not sure what their immigration officers will do different. We still need Visa, maybe embassies will treat Visa applications from such passport holders differently but their rules might not allow for that’ added the source when passing the information. Well, travel safe and happy landings, no matter what passport you carry, if you come from South Sudan and visit the region, the continent and the world at large.