The Democratic Alliance (DA) and its ancillary organisation, DA Abroad, in conjunction with SAPeople, today submitted petitions to Parliament with over 15 000 signatures calling for South African citizens living abroad to receive their citizenship and travel documents timeously and for urgent assistance to those currently unable to renew their passports.
With an average waiting time of six to twelve months for such documents, the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) are failing in their joint responsibility. These delays greatly impact citizens’ ability to work, access to vital services abroad and their freedom to travel. Many are forced to fly back to South Africa in order to renew their documents at great personal cost. Those that cannot afford this simply are left waiting in limbo for over a year.
The first petition deals with longstanding issues regarding poor service delivery for South African citizens living abroad. It petitions the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, to:
- Reduce waiting times for civic documents such as passports, ID books and birth certificates from six months to two months.
- Ensure that electronic services implemented in South Africa be implemented abroad as well.
- Make an online tracking service available so that those abroad can receive updates and check on the status of their applications.
- Provide foreign missions with adequate resources to contact consular offices and ensure that enquiries are responded to.
Respondents have made their frustrations clear: “It is a disgrace that these important documents take so long to reach us in foreign countries once requested from our embassies. People from other countries are shocked and find it laughable when we tell them how long it takes to receive new passports and other important documents.”
Another respondent highlighted that “It’s massively frustrating. There’s no way to track your application, no way to know how long it’s going to take, no way to make contact with the High Commission (they don’t answer phones or respond to emails!)”
One citizen proposed, “A possible solution could be to allow SA citizens living abroad, to submit electronic applications for passport renewals online via the eHomeAffairs website, and then present themselves in person at respective local mission to capture biometric data”, with another proposing, “I don’t understand the necessity of couriering documents when an electronic online facility exists.”
The second petition was necessitated by those stranded overseas due to the lockdown who currently have no home or work prospects in South Africa and require valid documents to live and work overseas and calls on the Minister of Home Affairs to:
- Ensure South Africans living, working and studying abroad who are facing long waits for their renewed passports have an emergency extension to their passport that covers the 6 to 12-month average wait.
- Co-ordinate with DIRCO to ensure all facilities where applications are made abroad are fully open for business and are Covid-19 safety compliant.
The excessive delays in the issuing of civic and travel documents, applied from overseas, is a threat to the freedom to travel, the opportunity to work and the ability of South African citizens abroad to access vital services. These petitions call on government stakeholders to find workable solutions to reform and modernise the outdated and dysfunctional system currently in place. This is well in line with Home Affairs’ commitment to become a secure and modern department.
The DA will ensure that the voices of South African people are heard whether they live at home in South Africa or abroad anywhere around the world.
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