India tries to fix passport fiasco

The Indian Consulate in Jeddah is working through diplomatic channels to get Saudi passport authorities to accept newly designed Indian passports.
“The Indian Consulate is aware of the unexpected problem,” said consul Pranav Ganesh. “The matter has been taken up with the embassy in Riyadh that is coordinating with Saudi Foreign Ministry to officially intimate the change in passport design to Passport Department (Jawazat) authorities.”
“Within a short period it will be accepted by Saudi authorities,” he said.
Ganesh said all passports issued by the mission are valid Government of India document. He noted the design change of the passport occurs only every 10 or 20 years.
Indian Embassy and consulate officials were taken by surprise this week when at least 200 expatriate workers attempting to leave the country discovered that Saudi authorities refused to accept their newly designed passports. Saudi passport officials said they have not received any official notification of the modification from the Indian government.
The old passport had holder’s photo on the second page, while the new version has the photo placed on the third page.
Indian expats received a confirmation letter from the Indian Consulate noting the validity of the new passport, but Saudi officials are insisting on receiving confirmation of the changes through the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.