Home Affairs plan to reduce long queues 'long overdue'

In KwaZulu-Natal, frustrated residents have complained about travelling to branches far away from their homes to get documents processed. Others say they have had to camp overnight outside the Umgeni Road offices in Durban to secure a spot in the front of the queue. 

Germaine Staley from the Western Cape says she had to wait two years to reinstate visas for her children.

Meanwhile, another woman has complained to Newswatch that it took nine hours to collect her passport from a Home Affairs office in Gauteng.

"During that time, one of the ladies fainted. The staff did nothing to assist her. I'm not sure whether she had a health issue. We were standing at that stage for about seven hours. And if you leave the queue, you lose your space. It was a terrible experience, it leaves a person with a sense of helplessness. If you complain, they are not going to help you," she said.