The Department of Passports says that it will begin to issue computerized passports once it is installed in its new building in the Centro de los Heroes government building complex. The Department will be using equipment donated by the US that will automatically issue the passports. To this day, Dominican passports are handwritten. The new building is expected to be finished early next year. The Department also announced it has opened a passport office in the East of the city to serve the one million residents that live east of the Ozama River. Another office will soon be opened in Herrera, in the West of Santo Domingo. The Department operates a provisional unit at Las Americas International Airport, in the Customs area. The idea is that Dominicans who live abroad can renew their passports while they wait for their luggage.
