Luanda, ANGOLA, February 13 - Angola should issue, by the end of the third quarter of this year, the biometric passport, internationally required, under the penalty of compromising the movement of national citizens abroad, said on Thursday the director of Migration and Foreigners Services (SME) , João António da Costa Dias.,

The director of the SME, was responding to concerns of deputies of the III Commission of the National Assembly for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Angolan Communities Abroad, during a visit to the institution's headquarters.

To the parliamentary delegation, headed by the commission's chairperson, Josefina Diakité, the SME director explained that the Angolan State is obliged to introduce biometric control, in the framework of the defense of its sovereignty and international security.

Asked about the lack of identification documents for nationals abroad, João António da Costa Dias replied that the demand has been met, pointing out as difficulties the fact that many of the applicants present false documents.

He explained that there are individuals with expired passports, but issued for several years with false ID cards or birth certificate, which hinders their renewal.

According to the director of the SME, verification of authenticity is under way, with the Directorate of Archives and Civil Identification, of processes originating from the diaspora, with emphasis on Germany, France and Belgium.

The main migration commissioner pointed out that the main challenges of the sector were border control, particularly with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in connection with Lundas (North and South), due to its extension of the common border.

He informed that citizens of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Rwanda have lost their status as exiles due to the political stability achieved in their respective countries, but those interested in staying may apply for residency.