South African Department of Home Affairs Reviews 

Never in my life have I witnessed such profound, systemic incompetence. The Department of Home Affairs is an absolute, non-functioning joke.

Minister Schreiber loves to strut onto national television to brag about "seamless online portals" and "innovative bank branch partnerships." It is pure, unfiltered fantasy. Not a single thing this department boasts about actually works in reality.

It took me three whole weeks just to complete an application on an online portal so poorly coded and unstable that a tech-savvy teenager could have built a better system over a weekend. Constant site crashes, endless buffering, and total system failures at every step.

Once you finally manage to fight through the broken system and hand over your hard-earned money, the site locks you out completely. I have been trying for over 10 days just to access the calendar to book a simple biometrics appointment, only to be met with constant errors.

Stop posturing for the news cameras, get off your backsides, and fix the basic infrastructure of your department. Forcing the public to jump through broken, dysfunctional hoops just to access basic government services is disgraceful. Enjoy the taxpayer-funded salaries while you can, because the public is sick to death of this utter uselessness, and the electorate will remember it.

The department of home affairs in Rustenburg Tlhabane square Branch on the Immigration Department yooh, The staff don’t wanna work all. If you don’t know anyone who works there forget about the service even if you could arrive early

Yesterday, the Tygervalley branch was physically closed from 12:00-13:00, no skeleton staff on duty. When they eventually opened, I was told that I need an affidavit (understandable). My gripe is, the SMS that eminated from the application simply stated come into the branch for fingerprints and photo. Went back today, just to be told, that branch & Epping don't offer the service I (actually my 91-year old Mum needed). I don't understand why, these branches aren't simply greyed out which would give an implied understanding that said service isn't dealt with at those branches. I was then redirected to the Bellville branch.
Very poor infrastructure for the aged & differently abled persons. No line control to check for such individuals and move them up the queue. No parking available which meant I had to park quite far, behind Shoprite, then push the wheelchair to the Bellville branch.
Inside the branch, no visible infrastructure for differently abled persons, the photobooth couldn't accommodate the wheelchair, hence, we had to see how to accommodate this 91-year old.
Thanks to the public for offering a space in front of the queue.
Thanks to the staff at Bellville for, I believe went above the call of duty. I'm prepared to, without payment put an effective system in place to help the staff navigate the system throughout the day.
Also, I feel for the staff, the interior is depressing, I'm sure that lowers morale.
A huge thanks to the staff at Bellville vs the staff at Tygervalley. The reason I selected that branch is because it would've been better in terms of infrastructure. Also, very few people (only those who are either working there or have private transport will use that branch). I think the workload could be spread more evenly if the work is distributed so that such branches are equipped to handle more).

I visited the Home Affairs office in Orange Farm seeking assistance with a sensitive domestic issue. Unfortunately, my experience was marred by a lack of empathy and understanding from the staff.

On both days I visited, I requested a one-on-one consultation with a social worker, but was rebuffed. The staff seemed more interested in attending to their personal matters, such as eating and filing their work than in addressing my concerns.

Despite my repeated requests for a private discussion, I was refused. The social worker asked me to disclose my personal issues in front of her colleagues, which made me extremely uncomfortable. When I explained my discomfort, she refused to accommodate my request.

The staff's demeanor changed abruptly when I asked to speak with someone privately, indicating that I was interrupting their personal time. I felt dismissed, disrespected, and unheard.

As someone seeking help with a sensitive issue, I expected more compassion and understanding from the staff. Instead, I was left feeling frustrated, vulnerable, and without support.

I hope that the Department of Home Affairs takes steps to address the inadequate service and lack of empathy displayed by the staff at the Orange Farm office.

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