Addis Ababa: The Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service has reported that in the last three months, 259,705 visitors were granted visas to enter Ethiopia. In a performance report issued today, Director General Selamawit Dawit detailed the achievements of the third quarter of the 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year. During this period, the Service successfully issued entry visas for a variety of purposes, facilitating the movement of over 1.1 million travelers into and out of Ethiopia via both air and land routes. This number represents a substantial increase compared to the same timeframe last year, highlighting a promising trend in the influx of visitors to Ethiopia. Selamawit attributed the rise primarily to the increasing number of travelers arriving in Addis Ababa. "We have issued 259,705 visas over the past three months," Selamawit stated, emphasizing that this marks a notable growth from the previous year's figures. The data indicates a continual rise in the number of travelers to Addis Ababa, with 5 59,848 passengers arriving through Bole International Airport and 581,704 travelers departing during the same period. In total, the Service processed over 1.1 million passengers in just three months. Additionally, 478,000 passport booklets were imported during this time, with 367,000 distributed to citizens. The online passport registration system is now efficiently processing more than 7,000 applications daily, while the e-Visa service continues to operate smoothly. The report also announced that starting in the upcoming January, e-passport services will officially commence, with all necessary preparations already completed. "We have initiated the trial phase for e-passports, and by January, we aim for a full launch of the service, marking a significant milestone in enhancing the passport issuance process," said the Director General. She also addressed ongoing efforts to tackle recurring service delivery challenges. A series of reforms and improvements have been implemented to enhance service quality, i ncluding the restructuring of the immigration system and revisions to immigration laws aimed at introducing significant changes. Furthermore, the Service revealed that passports for citizens aged 25 and older will soon have a validity period of 10 years, in accordance with the organization's new operational guidelines. "The passport service we provide to individuals over the age of 25 will have a validity period of 10 years. This will reduce the number of people who need to renew their passports simply because their time has expired without much use. It will also reduce the associated costs, which is why we believe it will solve many issues." Source: Ethiopian News Agency