Passport blues
One reporter’s trip to the Immigration Office
Aba A Luke
Published: 29 Mar 2010
On any given day, the Immigration Office is alive with the chatter of hundreds who’ve been granted appointments for that day.
Aba A Luke
Have you been to the Immigration Office to secure, collect or enquire about getting a new passport? If you have, you’d agree that the process is both time-consuming and, on most days, torturous. Having upgraded the system to create new, electronic passports, the immigration office here in T&T has also delved headfirst into a battle of sorts as they’re now faced with the task of documenting everything provided by every citizen who arrives for an interview. The pain experienced by the man on the street hasn’t gone unnoticed, with many people voicing complaints on public media forums. In fact, I myself faced the music when, on February 24, my appointment date arrived.
No one- hour process
Some 200 appointments are issued daily and, according to an inside source, the Immigration Department is understaffed. Having received an appointment for 10 am on February 24, I realised upon arrival that the possibility of leaving one hour later was absolutely absurd. Never mind the wait that lay ahead; what was even more outrageous to me was the general system and the apparent lack of necessary tools for the job. Entering the Frederick Street entrance, heat seemed to envelop me at the doorway. As I proceeded, I realised the heat wasn’t only around the doorway but also near the initial clerk who facilitated appointments for that day and the provided appointment forms.
I was taken by the reality that there were no computers with databases for these clerks to easily perform their day’s duties. A young lady looked toward me and politely asked if I’d come for a form or whether I had an appointment. In front of her was a stapled stack of papers with names and codes. Using a pencil, she identified my name and proceeded to let me know that I could take a seat to her left until my name was called. There were more people around me than there were seats and right there, I noticed the third issue with the system: how could those responsible schedule more appointments for one day than there are seats to facilitate the long wait?
Parents with their young children in tow were made to stand for long periods and, with less than ten officers available to facilitate step one of the process, the initial scan of documents, the process of securing a passport, which I was told would be merely one hour long, extended to over five hours. During my wait, I scanned the small room. Signs, many of which were made by hand with copy paper and Sharpie markers and stuck with Scotch tape, lined various areas of the wall, in a bid, I guess, to properly apprise citizens of necessary information. One such sign sought to inform the public that the cashier would be closed at 2.30 pm and, as such, only LINX payments would be accepted beyond that time. To the dismay of many, 2.30 pm was fast approaching and they were yet to meet with the authorising officer. Added to that, many of them did not come prepared to pay via LINX.
Lacklustre service
By 11.30 pm, the office was alive with noise as weary applicants, many of whom had arrived from as early as 7 am, began voicing their frustration. “It look like we go be here till 9 o’clock tonight, boy,” one man was heard telling his young son. Meanwhile, many officers were seen chatting among themselves, walking around and seemingly ignoring the fact that there were over 150 people waiting within the two areas of the office, for their scheduled appointments. Around 1.30 pm, there were still 50 people ahead of me. I listened in to the complaints of irritable applicants, some of whom were hungry and others who were merely angry. “Manning building all kinda high rise building but it don’t even have enough staff in here so citizens could get they passport—steups!” said one man. Eventually, by 4 pm, my number was called for a meeting with the authorising officer. By that time, the office was less crowded and for some reason, the system seemed to have been moving a little faster—maybe because it was almost time to go home!
The explanation
I walked into the cubicle and immediately began enquiring as to why the system seems so archaic. The Immigration officer calmly explained that the new system was meant to decrease any possibility of fraud. For this reason, there is the first channel through which a person’s application must pass before coming to his desk. He scanned my documents, noticing that I’d been sent away one week prior to obtain an affidavit as it related to an incorrect item on my birth certificate. This, he explained, was part of the reason for the long wait.
He said many citizens often show up at the office unprepared and, after waiting for hours on end, they’re made to go home and come back with all their required documents, in many cases, including affidavits. He further explained that the new process requires proper tracking of each person’s information—with copies of everything. I myself was told that I needed to go get one.
When I returned with my documents, the kind and courteous male Immigration officer prompted me to come back to him and within seconds, my documents were stamped and forwarded to the third officer, who would take my photo, and to whom I would then pay $250 for my TT passport—with LINX, mind you. After about 20 minutes my name was called, picture taken, money paid and date obtained to return for my spanking new T&T passport. My only fear, now, is whether I’ll be made to wait another six hours or so
