Home Affairs extends festive operating hours to deal with high demand

Home Affairs front offices will be extended to deal with the high demand for services over the festive season.

Home Affairs front offices will be extended to deal with the high demand for services over the festive season.

Published Dec 14, 2021

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CAPE TOWN - Operating times at Home Affairs front offices will be extended by two and a half hours to deal with the high demand for services over the festive season.

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi approved a temporary extension of operating hours by two and a half hours from 8am to 5.30pm from Monday until December 30.

The extension period excludes weekends, public holidays, and December 17 and 24.

Motsoaledi also extended operating hours at some of the busiest Ports of Entry (POE) by between two and seven hours, making some of them operate for 24 hours.

This is to enable a continuous processing of truck drivers.

Other travellers will be processed during the hours that fall outside the curfew.

“Our offices and Ports of Entry usually receive high numbers of people during the festive season, partly because that is when most people have time to look for services or to travel. The temporary extension is therefore aimed at giving people more time to come to our offices or be processed through our borders in a safe manner, taking into account that Covid-19 is still with us,” Motsoaledi said.

He encouraged those who applied for their IDs more than two weeks ago to and collect their documents at the offices where they made their applications.

Over the past two months the Department issued 206 254 Unabridged Birth Certificates, processed 187 813 ID applications, registered 129 324 births and issued 116 049 death certificates.

“These are the services that were in high demand during the past two months. The Department will offer all Home Affairs services during this extension period,” the department said.

The only people who will be sent home are those who arrive after 5.30pm. Everybody who arrives before 5.30pm should be served and not turned away.

Cape Times

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