The Department of Home Affairs says it will extend operating hours at all modernised offices until 19h00 from today until 28 February 2020.<\/p>\n
This means that Home Affairs offices will serve clients from 08h00 in the morning until 19h00 in the evening on weekdays, for the whole month, excluding weekends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe department will ensure that everyone who is inside an office at the time of closing receives the service they require.<\/p>\n
\u201cOffice managers\/supervisors are to apply their discretion to close the office 30 minutes prior to knock-off time, subject to the number of people being served. This is to allow officials to conclude all the necessary work before 19h00.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe department encourages people intending to visit our offices to do so as early as they can on their preferred day,\u201d the department said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Applications for and collection of smart ID cards and passports will be prioritised during the extended operating hours.<\/p>\n
Other services such as issuance of birth certificates, death certificates and applications for amendments and rectifications will also be rendered.<\/p>\n
The department urges people, who had applied for smart ID cards more than two weeks ago, to visit the offices where they had applied for the documents to collect them.<\/p>\n
On average, the department has around 400,000 uncollected smart ID cards nationwide.<\/p>\n