Fijians with biometric e-passports can now use Australia’s SmartGate system at all international airports.
Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto states this shows Australia trusts Fiji’s passport security.
He said talks are underway with New Zealand to offer the same access.
“Using SmartGate, Fijian travellers will enjoy faster, more convenient and contactless processing at major Australian international airports, significantly reducing wait times and enhancing the overall travel experience.
This milestone not only strengthens our bilateral ties with Australia but also underscores the integrity of our border systems and identity management infrastructure.”
Naupoto said discussions would continue with other countries to make travel easier and safer for Fijians.
Meanwhile the Immigration Department will now open passport offices until 8pm to help clear the current backlog.
Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto said the move comes as 35,000 new passport books are expected to arrive later this month.
Speaking in Parliament, Naupoto confirmed that the first batch from a larger order of 100,000 passports has already arrived.
He said the aim is to clear all pending passport applications by the end of next month.
Naupoto also apologised to Fijians affected by the delays and says the Ministry is working to improve processing times.
“We would like to reduce the turnaround time for normal processing from 15 to 10 working days and for urgent from 3 to 2 working days. An allocation of $5 million(US$2.5 million) is also provided in this budget for the purchase of a further 200,000 blank passport books.”
He added that the Ministry is also addressing visa and permit backlogs. Out of 31,144 total applications reviewed, 9,843 still needed full processing.
Naupoto said 6,831 of those have already been cleared, and they aim to complete the remaining 3,012 within two weeks.
