Home Affairs - things you learn while standing in a queue for 7 hours

In the queue at Home Affairs

We spent a whole day at Home Affairs yesterday. It was something that had to be done, but we were not looking forward to doing it. It was a mountain to climb, and it was even worse than imagined! (We are so tired of things that are not working!)

The worst!

- There was a majestic queue that snaked already before eight when it was supposed to be opened at eight.

- They only opened at half past eight.

- We were told that they are off-line at about nine-ish. Most of us had taken day's leave and could not afford to take another day. So we decided to stay put. (Some left)

- We were standing in the sun, outside the premises, until 12 pm. Most of us (especially the white ones, especially) were burnt badly.

- We should have taken chairs, hats, umbrellas, water and food. (Most of us did not)

- The poor moms with babies and children. Some were allowed to go forward, but not all! It was crazy hot in the sun!

The unbelievable!

- They do not tell the people in which queues they should be. Even before entering, you should be told that there is collections queue, and a queue for the id's, passports etc. The poor new mom and dad who waited for hours with the rest of us... Just, No!!!

- The websites are not updated, and we rocked up with outdated forms.

- The websites are not updated with the latest information. WHY? It would help so much to know what to have and bring.

- We only get the forms inside, while the forms could have been dished out in the queues, and we could have started filling it in while waiting for hours.

- Put up signs to let people know how it works. Where should we stand?

The best of people!

- People tell their life stories in the queue. We heard of the couple who were robbed and had to get new id's and driver's licences. She could not get a temporary driver's licence before she got an id. She had to have a driver's licence to hire a car to get back to work... When we last saw her, she was not able to secure the driver's licence.

- People shared food, water, umbrellas and medication in the queue. There was a guy with an injured foot who said he stabbed himself while drunk. (What he said??) Everybody was concerned about the swollen foot.

- People kept people's places in the queue.

- There are some good people working at Home Affairs. There was a guy who kept on working through lunch-time to help people. The rest just disappeared for more than a hour.

- Some gave up their much coveted chairs inside in the queues for older people.


But it is done! We can tick this off!


LOOKING FORWARD TO...

A new year with new adventures!

Family at Home Affairs

TIP:

- Go at 14:30 in the afternoons. Things have quieten down quite a bit, and they have to get you through the queues. (Hopefully!)

South African Home Affairs - a breeze! What?

Yes, we finally scheduled an afternoon to go through to Home Affairs to apply for two passports. We were dreading the queues and the bad service. We should already have gone last year, but there are
always ALWAYS a better thing to do than going to your local Home Affairs!

We decided on the Roodepoort offices as most people said the service there is the best.

We were pleasantly surprised:

- We did not have to fill in any forms. Everything is electronic. (A BIG bonus to me, as I HATE filling in forms.)

- We were immediately put into an electronic queue after we paid the said amount (R400 *ouch!!*= 35.38 US dollar) for the passports. That helps considerably as you don't have to figure out in which queue you need to be.

- The photos were taken on site. (Little Miss and I rocked up with a whole set of awful "passport photos" for ourselves). You don't have to fight all the budding photographers outside the door, or pay for your own set of photos any more!

- We could wait for our turn sitting down, and helping Little Miss with her homework.

- The fingerprints were taken electronically, and we did not have to content with getting black ink off our fingers any more!

- It took us just a little over an hour to get it done, and they said we will only have to wait for four weeks for our passport documents. (*Holding thumbs*)

Instruction by Little Miss to take photos of her hairstyle while waiting
(We had time for this...)

- We got an sms notification immediately that we have applied for the passports.

- The service was good, although there could have been more friendly faces. (But I don't blame the Home Affairs officials for looking like Dread at the end of the day working there...)


- Final note: So glad both parents went together, as the passport for the little ones requires both parents' fingerprints!


My brother in San Antonio, we are seeing you in middle 2015!
Little Miss and I will be going over the oceans for the first time in our lives! (The Student has been to France and England, and Hubby has been to a couple of places as well!)