The Ministry of Homeland Security has pushed back against recent media reports questioning the availability of passports in Trinidad and Tobago, insisting the country is not running out of machine-readable passports and that citizens can continue applying for and receiving them as normal.

In a media release issued Tuesday, the Ministry said that while public scrutiny of government services is welcome, several claims in the recent reports were inaccurate, incomplete, and did not reflect the full picture of its ongoing passport modernisation programme.

Contrary to suggestions that no action had been taken to replenish the country’s passport stock, the Ministry said the Immigration Division has been actively managing inventory throughout the transition to a new electronic passport (e-Passport) system. According to the release, the Division received 50,000 machine-readable passport booklets in October 2025, followed by a further 12,000 in June 2026. With the Division issuing fewer than 6,000 passports on average each month, the Ministry said supplies remain adequate to meet public demand.