If you are not there before 6 am , your wait is extremely long . We arrived at 7 and spent 6 hours in the line outside . Once in the building the process for 3 passports took an hour . Pack some snacks , a chair , umbrella and lots of patience. The staff were friendly and helpful.

Friendly staff and excellent service. The queue to get in took just over 2 hours, so come early. Other than that is was a pleasant and painless process. 3 passport renewals, 1 first time passport application, copies of birth certificates and marriage certificate all done in a little over 2 hours for a family of 6. well done to the staff that assisted us and keep up the good work

Despite waiting in line for an hour (to accommodate lockdown regulations that limit the number of people allowed indoors at a given time), I had a very plesant experience. I experienced efficient service delivery, performed by competent staff.

After standing in the queue for hours, they said they only give out a 100 tickets a day, but if we return between 5:00 and 5:30 tomorrow, they will open their doors and help us then... This does not sounds right! Anybody else?

It was a wonderful experience. I went to renew my passport only to discover that my old passport hadnt been cleared from KZN system. Irma went out of her way to resolve the issue and I was in and out within an hour. All the staff that I dealt with were helpful and professional. Well done to you all.

Bad Customer service, place needs a revamp. Staff needs to be more helpful and happy they have jobs. Also my Mom is over 70, no interest in helping the elderly 1st. They let us stand outside in the cold for more than an hour.

Standing in the queue since 10:00 this morning. Second update on the system being offline since then. 2 people went inside since I am here. Not enough communication and no preference if you come back tomorrow. No use for the ticket system incase you have to come back tomorrow, you need to queue again.

Rain pouring. No shelter for young and old and the queues just get longer and longer. After 10 minutes I just left. Previous experience at this office was horrific with rude staff and no regard for people/customers. Surely there must be other ways to assist the public with these services in the age of computers than having people waiting in line for hours on end. (71year old)

Terrible that an office that is so busy only has. So little people to help everyone..and then lunch time comes and 1 person is left to help everyone..maybe some of the stolen monies couldve paid a few more salaries .so that there could be more hands to help the people...

Staff is very unfriendly and dont communicate with the people or each other. The lady that assisted me in the queue told me to stand in the line for the ID. I than stood in the line for more than 2 hours just to hear that they dont issue IDs in level 3. So disappointed!

I have been waiting 2 months today for my smart Id card landline no is impossible just rings could someone please assist where do I call and what do o do ???

The situation for applying and collecting documentation and passports/IDs has worsened, with a full day needed to apply and then also to collect. Some photos of the location are old and there are not even signs for which of the very lengthy queues to join. Ones only hope is to arrive at 06:00 and bring a chair and sunscreen. Ironically, the board of Our Star Employees is empty, but in reality the staff are not bad people, they are just struggling with horrific systems put in place nationally. Make sure you get there VERY early and you should be fine. Bring everything you may need, water, cash (!), even toilet paper...

I went today to HA Paarl to renew my passport, the service was professional and very fast. This branch is really recommendable !!!Unfortunately I had to stand nearly 5 hours in the queue. Next time would come certainly in the afternoon when the rush is over. But why there is no possibility to make an online appointment similar like VFS it does. Easy to set up and very relaxed for all. Thank you.

My 82 year old mom and I went there today. It was such a pleasant experience. Efficient and very well run. Staff so friendly and helpful.Only downside were the toilets. Not clean at all.

U need a day just to apply for anything, the staff can only concentrate on one thing at a time. All got that slow-strike attitude. Best is to take something to drink and eat with you. A fold up chair and umbrella is great things to take with. U stand outside the building for 3-4 hours and then u play musical chairs inside. For collection its a little bit faster if they can find ur item some where in the alphabet.

Took me 20 min to apply for a passport. Professional service. Entered office at 15h00 and exit at 15h20.Opposite of what l expected. Thumbs up to the staff.

Neither myself nor my friend received an sms... I took a chance and drove out there from CT after 4 weeks - passport was there! Some advice: For collections go from noon. Take a hat/ umbrella as youre standing outside. Check that your details, eg. telephone number, is taken down correctly by the clerk. Make sure you ask for the document you want, eg. maxi passport (they no longer have application forms and do it all verbally) They take photos there so make sure youre happy with your hair :)

Most impressed with the friendliness and efficiency of the staff..well worth the drive out there from Hout Bay.. I received my passport ( previous passport was lost ) in 5 days !

Standing in a que for 4hours. Now the systems are offline. So frustrating 😤

I went to apply last year August for ID card document. Everything was a breeze from the queue outside and the inside flowed quickly and it was a rainy day. Unfortunately I have been waiting for a sms since that time for collection and phoning all the office numbers and no one to answer is very annoying. Especially now with Covid you dont want to put yourself in that situation again as they told you they will let you know via sms. As for the wattsap number they have someone reads messages but does not respond. So what am I to do driving up and down costs money. After service is not good at all.

I needed a new copy of my daughters birth certificate and we were in and out in 1.5 hours. Great service from Sarah who was incredibly helpful and friendly. Definitely worth the drive.

Very bad experience at this office , the supervisor or I dont know what she is was very rude , second day that I am here , she came out to say only 54 people can be helped today , this after being in the queue for hours. Unprofessional told me husband she is done talking when we questioned her , Do yourself a favor and stay away. Rrrruuuuddddeeee

No trip to a home affairs office is fun, but Paarl isn’t that bad and if you apply for your passport online it doesn’t take that long to get the photos and fingerprints done, about 20min for me. Longest wait was to pay them. That dude was as slow as a sloth on Sunday. Oh, and the star employees are all invisible :)

Stood in the queue for 2 hours just to collect my ID. Here is about 12 computer but ons 3 staff members working on them while complaining about how slow the system is.

Very poor service.... for collections, you stand from 9AM to 3PM then they tell you they not gonna help its time to close.

Definitely worth going to this branch. You are still going to wait in line for a while, simply because of the large number of people going through there, but the electronic numbering system and ample seating inside make it so easy. The staff are organized, efficient and best of all, friendly. The last time I was there they really went out of their way to help me and saved me a huge amount of time and effort.Edit: Passport and ID were ready 1 week later.

Slow service.

Absolutely awful experience, had to stand outside it the blistering heat with my newborn baby and no consideration was given to myself or any of the other parents who had young children with them or the elderly. The staff have no sense of professionalism or customer relations, too busy talking to each other or walking around at a snails pace instead of assisting the dozens of people waiting for hours at a time. They also have limited staff members working at any given time which just slows everything down tenfold.

Visited Paarl Home Affairs today. Arrived at 05h34, their doors opened at exactly 08h00. Elderly and disabled people were helped first. I was done with a passport and smart ID application within 30mins. Thanks for such efficient service! 👌🏼Update: I received my passport and ID exactly 11 days later.

Stand outside only for collection more than hours just to came inside to see theres only 2 clerks at helping desk very bad

Was a much better experience than I expected. Friendly staff, fast-moving queue. Very organised and efficient. We had our son along and the lady at the photo booth was awesome with him. Went on a Wed morning middle of the month

Applied for passport and smart ID on 16 July. Received a message one week later saying I could collect.From beginning to end, the process was an absolute pleasure. No paperwork, no old school photos and super friendly and efficient staff.What amazing service. Thank you! :)

Hi , passport been ready for three month now , is there a separate line for collections?

I have to commend Paarl HA for a great experience last week! We arrived with our autistic and non-verbal son and they were very helpful, going out of their way to assist us without us even asking! All of the staff there (albeit for one grumpy cashier) were all patient and kind, working methodically and smoothly. Thanks, Paarl HA for all your help!

Usually long queues but try to go between 12h30- 15h00.

Poor service. Nobody answers the phone. Aybody home???

No efforts to in force social distancing.

What amazing service is being done by the ladies and gents in the Paarl office. I went to renew my passport was in and out within 15 minutes everyone was so polite and efficient. Way better than my previous experiences.

Always someone keeping you informed with what is going on and what you need and where you have to go before you even go inside. Me and my girlfriend went on a busy Friday morning and was caught up in the back of the line. Looked like it was going to take the whole day to finish, we were inside the building by 08:30 and out by 10:00. Quick quick for a busy morning. Not even 2 weeks later my passport is ready for collection. My girlfriends ID was ready within 3 working days. Best Dept of Home Affairs I have been to. Thanks for the good service.

Definetly worth it to go to Paarl branch!Waited only 3 weeks for my passport and ID.There was a Q yes because we were waiting until they open.Once you get inside then the process flows so easy!Thank you to all employees at Paarl home affairs.

Rarely answers the phone. Have been trying to get ID books for 4 years now. They keep losing the paperwork, they do not revert back. It is now 12 months ago they said they would contact us, after the last visit. Tried to phone. Again giving our case numbers. They promised to look into it but it has been 6 weeks again now and nothing. SA Home affairs is a joke!!

Completed the online application think it would save us time. It didn’t, doesn’t matter if you have done the application online, you still need to join the queue and start the process all over like everyone else. Queued outside in the blazing sun for 4 hours. That was just to get into the building! Once in the building, took 10 minutes to take photos (probably the only pleasant part of the experience). Then we waiting another 2 hours to register our fingerprints. The only part that the online process saved us, was having to pay at the end.Unfortunately Standard Bank is the only bank in the Western Cape that partners with Home affairs. I would seriously consider opening a standard bank account just to benefit from this. 😒Maybe some one of the other home affairs give preference to people having done online applications. I heard the somerset west one does.

Passport ready within 3 weeks. helped by a very efficient team. called me back when promised, sorted out a system error. Easier than getting vodacom call centre to sort out fibre!

Absolutely useless

18/01 collected all our docs as applied on the 24/12 and service was once again good. Only challenge is management needs offer more staff assistance to the enquirers counter. this is where you get your number alternatively to check with parties in the line have done online applications as these people could be split at information desk24/12 Staff were friendly and went quick although short staffed during Christmas Eve. All our applications were done online for our Card IDs and Passport for my Daughter. Also got the unabridged birth certificate the same day within 1hour of applying. Well done guys you always get a bad rap.

This Home affairs gets 5 stars in my opinion. The team was friendly, helpful and they have a great system which works. My passport and ID was ready within a week. Keep up the good work.

Friendly, super efficient staff from Security at entrance all the way through to Cashier before leaving.Best ever Home Affairs experience.Thank you DHA - Paarl.

We usually come to Paarl because we have only ever had a positive experience but today we drove almost two hours to get there because our local home affairs sent us here and we have just been told that they are offline and we have to come back. I took a full day off work and I leave overseas in two weeks. All I wanted was a warning or at least put it on the website so that I dont have to take unpaid leave again.

Ive been standing in a line since 05:50 and were number 13 just to discover at 08:30 that they will only helped 11 people for the day. How can that be acceptable.

I applied for a Unabridge certificate on 20 March 2020, and im still waiting to hear when i can collect.) they told me it will take 12 to 16 weeks)They dont answer the phone and the email address does not work.

I was so impressed by the efficiency of all the staff and the kindness in trying to arrange my passport so I could visit a sick relative overseas. Everyone I dealt with had a calm and caring manner from the security guards to the info desk ladies to the people who make it happen. After seeing masses of people daily they still treat each person with individual respect. Keep up the positive attitude Paarl employees and thank you again

Staff are doing their best and try to be helpful. Unfortunately the system is either down, slow, offline, needing a reboot etc etc which means that the queues can be very long and slow. Went to queue today to collect at 10:00. Didnt move for 1.5 hours so left to fight another day.

Went early on an Monday morning. Entire process was finished just after 9. Eight days later they send me sms to said it was ready to collect. They take there own photos in Paarl so you not need to take your own. Friendly and helpful staff.

Waiting in queue from 7.30 am on a Saturday. At about 10 am we were told that there was no power - Eskom. We still waited. At about 11 am the power returned but they were offline. At 12.45 I walked inside. ( we had to queue outside) and I was told that the IT office in Pretoria was not responding and we had to leave. Without help.It was only Pick and Pay that had a backup generator in that block. Why does not the Home Affairs have a backup generator and better IT Support. Paarl. Come on you can definitely do better. My 13 year old daughter asked at some point why there was a delay. And the response she got was downright RUDE - why do you come here to Paarl ! Shocking. Surely these people need to be trained on common courtesy and how to be polite !!

I went to get my passport. Stood a a long time outside, but once inside it went super fast and staff were very friendly. I also managed to fetch my passport within two weeks from applying for it. Be sure to take cash and arrive very early. Highly recommend them though!

Standing outside the building for 3hours and 40 min seeing some people just walking into the building and been helped without standing in the line is unacceptable. Entering the building , so many empty seat available to sit but you need to stand outside only allowing 6 persons per hour form that long line into the building. Got helped inside within 1 hour. They seriously need a better system.

We were fortunate enough to have Pila attend to us, and although there was Loadshedding the day we went and the systems were down, she gave me her email address and promised to attend to our query if I could send her the docs.Although she was no doubt busy, and struggling at time with no power, Pila did her best to ensure that she not only resolved our query, but assisted in guiding and processing the subsequent issues that needed to be attended to, all within good time and always with friendly, courteous service!Thank you Pila, you went out of your way to help us, and no doubt do it for many people daily. You deserve to be recognized for your efforts, and we appreciate you!

Been off line for 2 days now and leave the people in que outside in the sun instead of offering a seat inside for those who wish to wait. Terrible service delivery

They never answer there phones.

Complete lack of organization, non exiting! 1 star because there is no option for 0!

No one answers the phone at all no matter how many times a day you call them or at what time of the day you call. It is frustrating!

No no no, please close this one, take the time and drive to Somerset West, you will get order there and a system that works. Place is very Neat and tidy, and the people there really wants to help you with a smile.We needed to apply for Unabridged Birth Certificate yesterday.We skipped the queue, and was helped or showed where to go after 5min (thats for the Star), after this it was chaos - 4 ✨.The Employee at Birth, Deceased and Married Certificates was not trained or unhelpful. We explained to him what we needed. And he just gave us the incorrect paperwork, told us to fill in the form and sign the Affidavit.After 30min, I realize that this forms were incorrect and went back to him, he just said yes its the correct forms. He showed me peoples files in another office where its still in process since 2012. Wow, thats a shock.I walked out knowing that this guy was not willing to help me, and wanted me to struggle. So I left. Best decision I made.Remember, Paarl Home Affairs have a lot of Departments inside. ID, Passports etc etc. But this guy was unhelpful and I wont return to Paarl.

No one answers calls. Try to call paarl .Vredenburg. Malmesbury. Need to now what to bring with if I go in because I live 65 km away from any big shops. All state organisations are pathetic.

Very disappointed with the service at Home Affairs Paarl. After waiting hours outside in the hot sun. The officials told us that the system is offline. Just after 15h00 the security told us that they are not going to allow us to go inside once the system is back on. They are only serving the people currently inside. The system went back on before closing time but they refused to let us in. After we insisted to speak to a person in charge Pila Dekeza. She gave us a number for complains. The lady on the other side of complaint s cannot speak English. 3 days I had to leave work early. My boss isnt happy at all. Paarl Home affairs a disgrace to government.

To actually go there is fine... friendly staff... but phoning them is impossible as NO-ONE answers the phone... if you eventually get someone on the line they put you through to someone else and then the phone just rings again till it is cut off. Pointless phoning customer care as the number is not working either....

8h25 and we are still standing outside in the cold and rain. Pathetic

This is pathectic they dont answer and other day i was thr and they was offline so need to know is it worth while cming to collect my daughter ID

Went @ 12h00 on 4 /2/2016 to collect. Offline. Waited outside in boiling sun for 2 hours and left. Inside was cool and waiting seats empty. At least they could allow us inside to wait. No information was available or announced whether coming online or not. We are in our seventies. Most inconsiderate of the doorman. Andrew

Once you inside everything is cool... the 5 hour wait outside was not cool... GET THERE EARLY at least 1.5 hours before opening .If you come after 13:00 don’t bother , they have a queue cut off

Thank you for being helpful with my application for an unabridged birth certificate for my adult daughter. I was given the incorrect information at Wynberg and wasted more than a week getting certified copies of ID and letter of permission from my daughter...and then their birth certificate queue closes at lunch time.....? Paarl staff were friendly, even with impatient customers...!

Very Impressed with their Services. They are helpful, friendly, but also fast. took us 45 minutes to apply for new Smart ID - No complaints

Standing in the queue for hours as normal. People who just come walk to the front of the queue to say they are collecting (theres a different line for collections) and then just swap to the other side inside home affairs.... And to top it off after waiting so long they eventually come out and tell us the system is offline... What a surprise...

The Staff are great but system says passport application from 2013 pending....but i have collected that passport and showed it to them ...So now they have to send email to HQ and wait for them to cancell incorrect system issue. Very helpfull lady eventually resolved..BUT systems clearly a problem

6am and the queue was at 50. Parking around the corner is preferable. The first person arrived at 4.30am. Bring a chair. But once inside the staff are efficient and friendly.

We are pensioners and do not make you queue. You should ask at the door if you qualify. They do not monitor the queue outside. Very efficient and polite service. A very good experience all round

Although the wait can be long, once inside it goes very quickly. The staff are cheerful as the go about dealing with clients

As far as Home Affairs Offices go, this one is pretty good. Nobody answers the phone when you call but the queues are generally short and the staff are very friendly and helpful in person.

Passport application process was quick and efficient. Also, it only took a week for passport to arrive. Very impressed! Keep it up!

We went with our children (18 months and 3 year old) to do our passports. Staff were so friendly and very efficient.

Ok, the wait outside can be a bit long, but once you’re inside, nice and easy. Friendly and professional staff who will laugh if you make a joke or chat a little with them. Planned to miss one day of work, took me 2.5 hours, mission accomplished.

They have a very poor costomer relations. They have a predetermined amount of people they will assist. They handed out numbers just after 08:00 (1 - 200). They said also said that the system is also down. We were just 3 after 200. 15;00 they handed out numbers for preference for the next 2 weeks. If you do not make it is is said though.If this is service delivery of government department, it is pathetic.This is to get passports and new identification card.If this was a business, they would of accomodated the people as it is more funds in there coffers.We were shown away 15:00. I under the impression that they only work at a certain pace to get 200 people through.The minister has no idea what is going on ground floor.

Probably the best home affairs department I have been to.Took a chance on a rumour that they were effective and drove out from Obs to get my Passport renewed. Spent about 2 hours going through the process (THEY TAKE YOUR PASSPORT PHOTOS AS PART OF THE SERVICE!!! DO NOT PAY EXTRA FROM A PHARMACIST) and less than a month later have received my SMS to collect.Pretty amazing.

Service is quick once you get inside the building, what they fail to mention is waiting 7h outside in the boiling sun. I could forgive this as I expect to wait.Processing of passport was quick got an sms notification within the week, however waiting in another 7h row and being told the systems are offline arent my ideal situation.I tried phoning and no answer after 20m, seems like other users have experienced similar issues. Unfortunately one of few Home Affairs that are open during the weekend.

Appalling on all fronts. They dont deserve 1 star but its the lowest rating I can give. Long queues (standing outside in the cold and rain). No communication. Unfriendly, unmotivated and unhelpful staff. Building falling apart. Dont answer their phones. Offline more often than not. Hardly ever open (8am to 3:30pm only). Ive been trying to collect my smart card for months and failed every time for one reason or another, and still they have the audacity to tell you that if you dont collect within 6 months theyll destroy it.

Applied for my passport 13/2/17 and notified today 20/2/17 that it was ready for collection. Very impressed with the service. Well done Home Affairs Paarl

Worst branch ever!! The staff is very unfriendly and has no consideration for the public. Staff takes forever toe help the public.

Absolutely dismal service. I accompanied a family member to apply for a passport a month ago. We arrived early a.m. stood in queue outside for +2.5 hours, in the hot sun, eventually once inside, the photos etc went relatively quickly. Still entire process +3 hours.The applicant was notified the passport was ready after a week. That was impressive. Well, today we went to collect and arrived much later. The queue was shorter. They have 1 side applications the other side collections. The applications queue was longer. Whilst waiting in the boiling sun, they allowed a batch of the applications in, naturally we thought it would be our turn next. No way, out came the small gentleman and security guard and the remainder of the applications were allowed in. The collections clients were very upset. I just wonder what system they have in place!!!. Obviously none!!! Not that the waiting room was overcrowded as there were many empty chairs each time, I looked in to check on the progress.At last 1.5 hours later we were allowed in. The collection took maximum 8 minutes untill completion. I am amazed to see they have counters for both. Surely the collections should be handled with people entering and leaving immediately. Also no benches or protection outside for anyone, whether you are elderly, a pregnant lady or have young children with you. All treated the same cattle in the sun I am pleased, I wont be paying them another visit for a long time. Would it not be great to see a positive review in a government department.

Took a leave day at work to apply for a passport, which is fine. Started queueing at 5am to be relatively close to the front, also no problem. But once inside we were notified that the system is offline. Mildly annoying, but still understandable - because you know, it happens. The problem, however was not addressed in a professional manner at all. After an hour and a half of waiting absolutely no feedback was given on the progress of the matter and what was being done to solve it, leaving all the clients in the waiting room (and the ones waiting in the massive queue outside the building) in the dark. No feedback, no apologies. We understand that technology comes with problems, but the least you could do is to apply proper communication.

Worse service, Long queues. Long waiting in line without line moving. You can wait up to a hour without any movement in queue. Worse part of it, the queues goes outside and in winter it becomes very cold. Also in summer is hot to be standing under the sun.Dont think of going there during school holiday, else, you will send the entire day waiting

The worse EVER!!! Twice I have been to collect my documents.....to find that they are off line....with no interest to find out how long it will take to be on line again. People queuing into the street!! Useless bunch of thicklipped and unfriendly people.

Slow and very insufficient ... They only help 150 people per day, that is not even 20 per hour, with minimal 6 counters open, that means 3 people per hour! 20 minutes per client. While picking up a document, can be done in less than 5 minutes...It seems to me the only thing that they get right is counting to 150, to make sure that they dont get overworked.

We had very good service, 3 Adults + 1 Child applied for 3 ID Smart Cards and 2 Passports. All completed in 1 hour. Thank you.

Thank you to the staff at Paarl office for friendly /fast and efficient service - just one 6 working days for passport renewal and smart ID - very little queuing

Terrible service!!! Waiting time 4.5 hours and all staff extremely unfriendly

I cant take people giving low ratings because ques are long at any government departments, seriously...Sorry. Fact is, they try here, and they are always friendly. You cant blame staff for bad systems.

Arrived at 7h15 stood in the que to apply for Passport renewal on 10 January 2019, left the office at 11h00 only. 😡Was surprised to receive my notification only 10 days later to collect. 😁Collected on Friday 8 February 2019, stood in the que from 13h00 - 15h00 in the blazing sun. The que for applications were moving all the time but the que for collections was ridiculous. Some of the people infront of me were there for 2h30 minutes. How is it possible for a collection to take this long?😡

This branch is crowded because of all the people who live outside of Paarl coming here. Not sure how true it is, but apparently not all home affairs branches have the resources to process passport applications, leaving people with no alternative but to flock to Paarl branch. I would recommend arriving early, taking a friend along to break the monotony of the wait, a camp chair and some strong hand sanitizer. They dont wipe the fingerprint scanner and signature pad after each person has used it. I leave that to your imagination. Things are pretty much automated once inside. You are given a number and you just follow the voice announcements when yours is mentioned. The hardest part is getting into the building, after that it is childs play provided their systems are up. The place itself could do with a renovation inside.

Absolutely no sense of urgency here. Pathetic service. Will not go to this office again

Needed to apply for a passport so drove in from Durbanville. Arrived at 7:40 and was 8th in the passport queue. Once the doors opened at 8 everything went smoothly and was done in an hour. Everything was captured electronically and was pretty efficient.

What service? 4 hours+ to wait for taking fingerprints and photo for ID. We were still quick compared to some