22 March 2022
Vimbayi Mahachi
www.zimgbcmedia.co.zw
Zimbabwe has joined the technological advancement that is overwhelming the world as passport application is now online.
Zimbabwe recently graduated to the adoption of e-passports.
With this change in policy Zimbabweans can now apply and pay for newly-introduced passport at the click of their computer buttons.
A notice from the Registra-General’s office says that application does not take much time. The online passport application system is capable of serving 20 people per every 20 minutes.
Applicants no longer need to endure waking up in the wee hours of the morning to queue but can do so at the comfort of their homes by paying US$120 for an ordinary passport and US$220 for an emergency document.
An Express Passport Office Centre has since been opened at the Registrar-General’s Office in Harare to specifically handle online applications.
The Registra’s statement suggests that the process of applying and collecting a passport can be done in 48 hours compared to seven days for those who apply in person.
In this regard the Manager of the Express Passport Office Centre Mr. Terence Mutemararo spoke to The Sunday Mail and stated that the online application system sought to eliminate congestion at passport offices.
“When the e-passports were launched last year, it was made clear that they will be two categories of applications: One with a seven-day turnaround which we started with and now we have introduced the Express Centre that issues passports in 48 hours from the time of applications,” he said.
The Express Passport Office Centre is considered convenient to the elderly, persons with disabilities and those who need emergency passports.
“The main purpose of the Express Centre is to bring convenience to those who need emergency passports. There are a lot of people that might be working but their time is limited, so they can simply book a time and get the passports at their earliest time of convenience.
“The major purpose of the online booking is to de-congest this place and make sure that people come at their accorded time slots. It is capable of serving 20 people per every 20 minutes given the number of booths we have and the number of people serving inside,” he said.
The online passport system is accessed on the website expresscentrezw.com. The website gives instructions on available booking schedules.
An applicant is given further instructions to complete the application process.
Booking online decentralises the facility to other parts of the country as well as in the Diaspora for collection of the passports, officials say.
The registrar office stated that everything is on course to ensure e-passports are obtained from all the country’s 10 provinces by the end of June.
Offices in Bulawayo are being refurbished and people will start applying for e-passports in the country’s second-largest city in a few weeks.
“In terms of Bulawayo, the technicians are working flat-out and before the end of this month Bulawayo will now be issuing e-passports,” he said.
If this platform is used effectively application of passports has thus been made easier.
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