Question NW1724 to the Minister of Home Affairs
09 July 2021 - NW1724
Bergman, Mr D to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1)What is the (a) total number of applications for passport renewals that have been received by Home Affairs office in London since 1 January 2019 and (b) number of the specified passport applications that have been finalised and given to the applicants; (2) what number of (a) applications for birth registration have been received by the specified office since 1 January 2019 and (b) the specified birth registration applications have been finalised; (3) in view of the fact that all birth registrations must take place within 30 days of the birth of a child in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, Act 51 of 1992, how long does it take for parents to get an appointment to register the birth of their child; (4) what number of appointments for new (a) birth registrations and (b) passport applications are processed by the specified office on each day; (5) what (a) is the total number of outstanding (i) birth registrations and (ii) passport applications at this office and (b) are the reasons for the delays in each case?
Reply:
1. The total number of passport applications received at the South African High Commission in London since January 2019 is recorded as 11343
2. The total number of birth registration applications (Notice of birth) received at the South African High Commission in London since January 2019 is recorded as 1037
3. The Appointment system allows for an appointment to be scheduled within 90 days from the request or on where possible on the day in accordance with the convenience of the client.
4. In accordance with the appointment record the Mission is able to schedule 28 appointments per day.
5. (a) The total number of outstanding (i) birth registrations stands at 104 and (ii) passport applications stands at 873 currently.
(b) Delays are mainly due to late receipt of Diplomatic Bags. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and DIRCO prepared a communique to Missions abroad to forward all long outstanding applications to DIRCO and DHA has created an e-mail address to deal with long outstanding applications. Both departments agreed on the automation of the application process which will be done in the medium to long term with the aim of ultimately reducing turnaround times.
END