Home Affairs defends new passport delivery service for diaspora

THE newly launched “Home Affairs at Home” campaign by Minister Leon Schreiber, aimed at delivering passports to South Africans abroad , has come under fire, with ActionSA accusing the department of prioritising “luxury for the diaspora’ while citizens at home endure poor service.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI

The “Home Affairs at Home” campaign seeks to spare South Africans living abroad the hassle of repeated embassy visits by having passports delivered directly to their doorsteps.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the move, noting that citizens have long been forced to make multiple costly trips to embassies and Home Affairs offices, first to apply and then again to collect their documents.

According to the DA, the passport delivery rollout officially kicks off on November 1, where it will allow citizens in 18 major cities worldwide, including London, Sydney, Auckland, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, New York, Washington DC, Ottawa, Beijing, Berlin, The Hague, Manchester, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Perth, Wellington, Shanghai, and Diisseldorf, to receive their passports by courier, a process the DA says will be more efficient.