The Ugandan government has announced that its embassies will cease the practice of replacing lost passports for citizens.

If you misplace your Ugandan passport while overseas, you will now need to return to the East African nation to request a replacement. This is due to the country prohibiting the handling of lost passport cases in all 38 of its embassies worldwide.

Uganda's Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control has instructed all embassies to promptly enforce this directive, as reported by the country's media.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs in Uganda states that some Ugandans residing abroad have been unlawfully selling their passports to individuals with undisclosed motives, which include fraudulent activities.

The ministry states that the sale of passports has a long-term impact on the reputation of Ugandans internationally, with some countries having already lodged formal complaints against Ugandan nationals.

Simon Mundeyi, the spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, informed Uganda's newspaper "Daily Monitor" that some citizens abroad were selling their passports for $5,000 – nearly 19 million Ugandan shillings – to buyers with ulterior motives.

Mundeyi elaborated that these Ugandans would subsequently visit embassies to apply for passport replacements.

On May 7, the interior ministry official remarked: "Many countries in Europe and Asia find it difficult to differentiate people of colour, and it was becoming easy for a person of colour from another country to beat the immigration system using a Ugandan passport."

Mundeyi added that processing lost passports in Uganda would enable a comprehensive examination of applicants before issuing new passports.

Uganda has announced a special arrangement with foreign countries to facilitate the return of Ugandans who lose their passports.

However, the interior ministry clarified that Ugandans with expired passports will still need to seek renewal at embassies, emphasizing that renewal necessitates presenting the old passport.

According to the country's foreign affairs ministry, there are over 780,000 Ugandans living in the diaspora.

Replacing an ordinary passport in the East African nation costs 250,000 Ugandan shillings ($65) and typically takes a few weeks to process. Alternatively, an express passport, with a processing period of three to five working days, costs 400,000 Ugandan shillings ($105).

The new directive imposes additional costs on Ugandans who have lost their passports, primarily in terms of transportation charges.

For example, let's consider two Ugandan nationals – one residing in Beijing, China, and the other in New York, United States. Let's assume they genuinely lost their passports and hold valid work permits in their respective foreign nations.

New York is approximately 11,400 kilometres from Uganda's Entebbe city, which houses the country's main airport.

Assuming we've chosen the most economical airline with multiple stopovers connecting New York to Entebbe, for a late May departure with a return option for late June, the cost would be at least 1,100 US dollars, with a total flight duration of 68 hours round trip.

On the other hand, the Ugandan in Beijing, situated 9,500 kilometres from Entebbe, would face airline costs of at least 1,200 US dollars and a minimum flight time of 34 hours.

Previously, these individuals only needed to visit Uganda's embassies in their respective capital cities, Washington DC and Beijing, to apply for passport replacement.