The Botswana passport is to undergo a change after many foreigners have been caught using it in some countries abroad. The illegal ownership of the passport by non-citizens is forcing the government to now produce machine readable passports. With effect from 1 November 2008, citizens who lose their passports will have to wait for almost a year to be issued with replacements. The replacement of a lost passport will now carry a fine of 1,000 pula. The British government is also putting pressure on the Botswana government to do something about the travel document which has been found in possession of non-Botswana citizens in Britain. Britain has told the Botswana government that if the situation was not arrested; the Botswana passport holders will have to apply for visa to go to the United Kingdom. The Botswana passport holders enjoy the privilege of traveling into several Commonwealth countries without visas. The government will now only issue passports in Gaborone where as the emergency traveling documents will be issued at all immigration offices and at border post s around the country.
