Thanks to a new facility that has opened in Auckland, Saffas living in New Zealand no longer have to travel to Wellington for consular services.
Launched last week through a partnership with VFS Global, the new centre aims to ease frustrations around passport renewals and civic services for New Zealand-based South Africans.
Many expats had previously faced months-long delays – with some even flying back to South Africa to retrieve important documents.
Wait times reduced from 12 months to 1 month
South African High Commissioner to New Zealand, Johnny Sexwale, described the development as “long overdue,” saying it would ease the burden for thousands of SA citizens in New Zealand.
“This is a journey towards delivering efficient civic services to South Africans,” Sexwale told RNZ. “The days of travelling great distances to the South African High Commission in Wellington are gone.”
“We want to acknowledge the frustration of the South African citizens over a number of years. We have heard our community. We have responded – not only with words, but with action.”
According to immigration consultants, wait times could be slashed from 12 months to three or four weeks.
The Auckland and Wellington centres now both handle passport renewals, offer extended hours, and allow online bookings – a major improvement from the previous system.
There is one small catch…
There is one exception to the new consular service in Auckland – it cannot handle first-time South African passport and ID applications.
Those still need to be done in person at the Wellington mission. However, discussions are underway to expand delivery options for completed documents.
Sexwale also confirmed that the Department of Home Affairs is moving toward a more digital service model, with plans to eventually offer Smart ID applications abroad.
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