I refer to your correspondent's comment on the advantage of not having one's passport chopped when one enters or leaves Hong Kong ('Stick with current set-up', South China Morning Post, May 27).
Whilst agreeing whole-heartedly on this point, the other comment on complications in getting a Sri Lankan passport should not go unchallenged.
Since your correspondent is obviously a Sri Lankan, he/she should know that with the required documents it takes four to six weeks for the new passport to reach the applicant by courier. A birth certificate and a Sri Lankan identity card (which all Sri Lankans must possess), a completed application form, the required photographs together with the appropriate fee should be sent to the Sri Lankan Consulate in Beijing (or Canberra, Bangkok or Tokyo) and the new passport will reach the applicant within the stipulated time. I do not see what is so complicated about this.
If one does not possess the required documents, then there could be problems and this will apply to obtaining a passport from any country, not just Sri Lanka.
ANDREW DIAS Pokfulam
