Friday July 3, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia is set to roll out a new modern passport in October 2026, Immigration and Citizenship Agency Director General Hussein Qasim Yusuf announced Thursday.
Addressing reporters in Mogadishu, Hussein said the travel document will be a third-generation passport equipped with stronger security safeguards and designed to meet international standards.
He said the updated version is meant to boost confidence in Somalia’s passport and improve its standing as an official travel document recognized abroad.
According to Hussein, the new passport will be connected to the National Identity Card system, with each citizen’s identity details appearing on the passport’s data page.
“By October, we will have a new, modern passport, and it will be necessary for the National Identity Card to be part of the passport issuance system,” Hussein said.
He said the Immigration and Citizenship Agency will spend the next two months working to merge passport services with the National Identity Card system.
The move is designed to help citizens transition smoothly when the new passport system goes into effect.
Hussein also highlighted cooperation between the Immigration and Citizenship Agency and the National Identification and Registration Authority.
He said that partnership is crucial to modernizing public services and tackling long-standing problems in Somalia’s identity and travel document systems.
