Sunday Mail Reporter
ZIMBABWE is ramping up efforts to establish three new e-passport centres in the United Kingdom, Zambia and the United States to facilitate easier access to essential civic documents for citizens living outside the country.
This follows the successful opening of an e-passport office at the Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, earlier this year.
The centres will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology to ensure efficient and secure passport processing.
Registrar-General Mr Henry Machiri told The Sunday Mail that the e-passport offices will provide convenience “to our citizens living outside the country”.
“We are committed to ensuring that our diaspora community has access to essential documents without undue hardship,” he said.
The Johannesburg e-passport office, which opened earlier this year, has already issued close to 7 000 travel documents.
“The e-passport office at the Johannesburg consulate in South Africa commenced processing of e-passports on June 18, 2024. As at September 20, 2024, a total of 6 967 e-passports have been issued.
“The current fee for e-passports is R4 900 and only payable in South African rand,” he added.
The department, said Mr Machiri, is also planning to extend the e-passport service to Cape Town, South Africa, once renovations at the consulate are completed.
At least 14 e-passport offices have been set up countrywide. More than 100 000 travel documents have been issued since the introduction of e-passports in January 2022.
The e-passports are now being processed at the Harare passport registry, as well as provincial and district offices in Bulawayo, Gwanda, Gweru, Lupane, Marondera, Beitbridge, Chitungwiza, Hwange, Mazowe, Murewa, Zvishavane, Chinhoyi and Guruve.
This year, the Civil Registry Department (CRD) is targeting to establish e-passport offices in Gokwe South district and Mutare.
In addition to the new centres, the Government is also planning to launch an online platform for passport and national identity card applications before year-end.
The platform will streamline the process of accessing essential civic documents.
Central to this initiative is the Zimbabwe Population Registry System (ZPRS), a comprehensive database that will hold citizens’ demographic information such as names, dates of birth and places of residence.
The ZPRS will be a key component for the operationalisation of the online application platform for civic documents.
The system will link various Government departments, including hospitals.
This integration will allow for instant birth and death registrations, further enhancing efficiency.
To facilitate the digital migration, the CRD has already secured high-tech equipment, including servers, in preparation for the rollout.
