Home Affairs Department Woes

Maybe, for my own safety, I shouldn't complain, given the recent reports of fraud, corruption, and murder in the Department of Home Affairs, but they really are slooooow.

I'm trying to apply for my UK passport (amongst other reasons, I want to get one before they bring in the biometric requirements; otherwise I'd probably have to go up to Joburg to apply in person, which would be annoying, since I'm in Cape Town).

To do this, I need three documents: my dad's birth certificate, my birth certificate, and my parents' marriage certificate. Now I had my birth certificate and my parents' marriage certificate, but they need the full unabridged version. I thought that this would be easy - I can just get the unabridged version from the Dept of Home Affairs. I thought getting my dad's full birth certificate would be difficult, since I'd have to get it from the UK equivalent.


I had it totally back to front. I ordered my dad's birth certificate via the UK government website, paid by credit card, and it was delivered to my door two weeks later.

Compare that simple process to trying to get my own birth certificate (which, two months later, I still don't have). You can download the application forms off the web, but you have to go into your local DHA office to submit them and pay the fee. At least they are open on Saturday mornings, and the queues weren't too bad. But they say it takes 6 to 8 weeks to get the certificates, and they won't send them to you, you have to come in and collect them. Nor will they notify you when they're ready for collection - you have to phone them to find out.

So after 6 weeks, I phoned, and after a couple of days I managed to get someone to answer the phone - to my surprise, the birth certificate was ready for collection! The marriage certificate was printed, but not signed yet. So after another week, I went to pick them up. Or tried to, at least. After waiting in the queue while she chatted to the previous person, she looked all over for about 20 minutes before telling me she couldn't find them (and didn't know how to look it up on the computer, either). I asked what to do next, since it would be pointless phoning again since they'd just tell me it was ready, like they had before - her response was to come in on Monday and speak to someone else. Yeah, like I don't have a job to go to! Eventually I spoke to the supervisor, who was really helpful, checked up on the computer, and told me that she didn't know why I had been told the birth certificate was ready, since it and the marriage certificate had been printed but not checked yet. She also gave me the number of someone higher up in the hieararchy to phone.

So a week later, I phoned this person, who was also quite helpful (for what it was worth). She told me that the birth certificate had been printed 10 days after I submitted the application, but still wasn't checked! The marriage certificate also was still waiting to be checked. She said she'd look into it, and get back to me. A week later, I phoned her again - she was still looking, she said, for the printed birth certificate and both application forms, but she would definitely get back to me. Almost a week later again, and I haven't heard from her.

I know they're busy, and I know they're understaffed - but this is ridiculous!