Long queues and poor services at some of the department offices have opened opportunities for criminals who often pose as home affairs officials to rob unsuspecting members of the public.At times, people who are reluctant to stand in long queues are often required to pay certain amounts of money to those who are manning the queue, in order for them to jump the frustrating queues.
BABS aims at providing members of the public with an opportunity to book a time slot to visit a home affairs office to process their application. The department says it has put measures in place to avoid situations where agents would be allowed to book spots and just to resell those bookings to people at a later stage.
“We are not going to turn people back at this point in time. But we just want to encourage South Africans to move to that particular mode of making online bookings instead of waking up at 5am to go and queue,” he explains.The department says in the near future, selected home affairs offices will process smart ID and passport applications only for clients who have booked an appointment through the online system.