The Harare passport office will now be opening on Saturdays to keep up with the high demand for the new e-passport. The Bulawayo passport will now also be issuing e-passports.
The new e-passport has been well received by Zimbabweans. Previously getting a passport was challenging. Firstly one needed to have US$318 for an emergency passport since the US$53 passport was no longer being issued due to a massive backlog that went back for years.
When the e-passport was first launched, people were hesitant to apply because it was common knowledge that the queues at the offices were ridiculously long ad the service very slow. Yet people started sharing their swift experiences on social media and more and more people have been travelling from neighbouring cities and abroad to apply for e-passports.
Due to the high demand, the Civil Registry Department has said that the Harare passport office will be open on Saturdays from 8 am to 3 pm. The working hours have been extended to meet the demand and avoid backlogs. Other national documents will continue to be issued from Mondays to Fridays during normal working hours.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe officially opened the Bulawayo e-passport Bio-Enrolment centre for the issuance of e-passports. This is good news for Bulawayo residents who have until now had to travel to Harare to apply for their e-passports. Bulawayo is the second city to have the service rolled out and the facility will be extended to other provincial and district centres and Zimbabwean embassies abroad starting with South Africa.