Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has approved the extension of the operating period for two hours to 18h00 from Thursday (30 June) until 15 July 2022 at selected offices across the country.

Motsoaledi said the extension will only apply to the application and collection of Smart ID cards and passports, and will exclude weekends.

The extension is to meet the anticipated increase in the demand for ID and passport services during the winter school holidays, the minister said.

“This exertion is critical for service delivery. It is part of our many strategies to eliminate long queues at our offices while ensuring that people receive the enabling documents they apply for. We will ensure that every client that is inside these selected offices at the time of closing receives services,” he said.

During school holidays, the Department of Home Affairs experiences an increase in demand for its products, especially among parents applying for various enabling documents for their children.

Parents are encouraged to use the Branch Appointment Booking System to schedule their visits to Home Affairs offices at times that are suitable to them. The list of offices that offer appointment bookings is available here.

The full list of selected offices which are operating for extended hours will be published at this link – but was not available at the time of writing.

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