Immigration Department

Went to the Immigration Department recently, was very happy to see their latest state of the art machines for the application and renewal of passports. However, this machine has its flaw and is not applicable to all. Thumbs up for an initiative of advancement anyways.

Those who failed to put in their application through the machine will have to go through the normal process. First, you have to queue for the number, here the person serving at the counter will check that your forms have been completed, photo and other documentation attached before you are given your number.

Then you wait for approximately one hour forty minutes or more before your number is called, at this counter your application will be counter checked, your thumb print copied, and finally the submission of the whole thing. Next, you wait again for another 45 minutes or so before your number is called for a second time. At this counter, there were signages that informed the public that your passport will be ready two hours after receipt of payment, so you make your payment, get your receipt, and go anywhere you want, but remember to come back in 2 hours, as that was the time limit given for the passport to be ready.

Most people will go have their food, run some errands, or like us go home for a short nap, while setting the alarm so that we don’t miss the 2 hours dateline.

Like all Government Departments, no matter how modern or ancient the building may be, parking will always be an unending problem. With this in mind and not wanting to be late you just park wherever is convenient, though if you are unlucky you will be given the ticket, what the heck?

On the 2 hours timeliness you submit your receipt to the counter, they will in return give you another number, and, yes of course you wait, and you wait and you wait. Oh, did I read that signage wrong? Obviously all these processes that I have been through from the moment of receipt of payment have been more then 2 hours.

What is weird too is that, the numbers that were way after yours will be called much earlier than you. WTF?

Anyways, after nearly 4 hours I finally got my passport. Do I need to say more? The very obvious thing at the Immigration Department is that there were 38 counters, by 1100 hours only 3 counters will be serving, while the rest were empty, yet you see the staff walking around behind the counters, talking, on the mobile, just pondering at nothing, and top most trying to look busy.

I hope someday, my grandchildren will see a better serving government, and not go through this shit over and over again.