Zimbabwe's consulate in South Africa rolls out e-passports

Zimbabwe's consulate in South Africa announced the phased rollout of an e-passport processing facility starting today.

Consul-General Eria Phiri explained that the first phase involved training consulate staff, which concluded on June 15, followed by a system test run from June 18 to 21.

This trial run will involve a limited number of randomly chosen clients to assess the system's performance in a real-world setting before full public rollout.

Phase 2 will see the e-passport application process open to all members of the public. Another public notice will provide details on the e-passport center's operationalization before June 21.

The e-passports will comply with Statutory Instrument 1 of 2024, with the cost set at US$150, converted to South African rands based on the previous week's average exchange rate.

An additional US$20 fee will apply for a QR code. Required documents include the original birth certificate, ID, and, for married women, the marriage certificate.

Payment methods will be communicated to selected participants. The consulate emphasized that it does not have agents acting on its behalf.