The time has come to expedite the renewal of identity cards especially now that biometric passports are going to replace expired passports.

There is no doubt that there is a lot of wariness about biometric passports among Maltese citizens.

It seems that the main objective of this biometric passport is to facilitate freedom of movement between Malta and the US and to eliminate the need of a visa for Maltese citizens who want to travel to the US. As far as I know, the majority of the Maltese travel to EU countries. To travel to any EU country one does not need a passport but a valid ID card. So how come the introduction of biometric passport has been put on the fast track by the government while renewal of our expired ID cards does not seem to be a priority? We need valid ID cards to travel to Europe.

What about Maltese living overseas? Would it still be possible for a Maltese embassy overseas to issue biometric passports for Maltese citizens living abroad or would we have to come over to Malta to have our passports renewed? Why is it not possible to renew one's ID card at the Maltese embassy of the country one is living in if a person works there?

I am sure that the questions I put forward are of interest to many Maltese nationals working overseas.

Therefore, an official statement/clarification by the authorities in this newspaper about these subjects would be of a service to all Maltese citizens.