Cases, Methods of Cancelling and Destroying Algerian Passports

A joint ministerial decision stipulates the destruction of a passport whose holder does not come forward to withdraw it within 180 days, after informing him/her of its readiness by all means, including emails, and notifying him/her several times of the obligation to withdraw it.

A report that includes the names and surnames of the owners of the destroyed passports, as well as the number of passports, is recorded on paper and in digital forms.

According to the joint ministerial decision signed by the Minister of Interior and Local Authorities, Brahim Merad, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, which aims to determine the methods of delivering, cancelling and destroying the passport, the holder is informed by all possible means and processes, including electronic ones, of the readiness of his/her passport to be withdrawn by the competent authority to which the application file was deposited. If the person concerned does not submit a request to withdraw his/her passport within 15 days from the date of notification, a first written notification of withdrawal will be sent to him/her.

The same decision applies, and after the expiry of 90 days from the date of the first notification, and if the person concerned does not withdraw the passport, a second written notification of withdrawal is sent to him/her. After the expiry of 180 days from the date of the first notification of withdrawal, and the passport is not withdrawn, the authority at which the passport is located notifies the issuing authority, which in turn notifies the National Center for the Production of Secured Bonds and Documents is notified to cancel it and disable its functional capabilities.

As for cases of requesting an Algerian passport by the diaspora abroad, the diplomatic or consular centre is notified to the same national centre for the same purpose, and the issuing authority of the passport and the competent authority to which the application file was deposited confirm the process of cancelling the passport and disabling its functional capabilities.

According to the same source, the authority to which the application file was deposited marks the cancelled passport on page 3 opposite the page containing the personal information of its holder, with a stamp bearing the phrase “cancelled” in the Arabic, French and English languages.

The authority to which the application file was deposited, after completing the stipulated procedures, shall destroy the cancelled passport, by making a hole in the electronic chip and the machine reading area using a dedicated tool.

The physical destruction of the passport is carried out by a committee established by the chairman of the Municipal People’s Council, headed by the General Secretary of the Municipality and consisting of two representatives of the National Security Services or the National Gendarmerie at the municipal level.

Following this, the process of destroying the passport is recorded in a report prepared by the committee, in paper and digital forms, and includes in particular the number of destroyed passports, the information related to them, and the first and last names of their owners, as the cancellation and destruction process must necessarily be subject to all the aforementioned stages.