Minister of Justice Amândio Benevides confirmed that the visit was taking place, adding that the team will approve production of 66,000 new passports with its Finnish partner, Thales.

An electronic Passport (Passport) is a passport which features microchip technology.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation has recommended all countries including Timor-Leste change the manual passport book to an electronic passport, in line with international security standards.

In May 2023, former Minister of Justice Jose Edmundo Caetono told state media his Ministry had withheld printing of Timor-Leste’s epassports with Thales due to costs.

According to Caetono, the price offered by Thales was not under international passport production charge of $10.