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Passports, birth certificates and citizenship issues - Update #19
Citizenship Lobby Group (CLG)
April 22, 2002

Dear All

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have issued a press statement which covers many of the issues which have harassed Zimbabweans of late, notably difficulties acquiring passports and birth certificates.
Click here to read the ZLHR press statement.

I can confirm that applications for birth certificates and passports are currently not being entertained if the person concerned has a foreign-born parent and cannot produce proof of renunciation of entitlement to that citizenship by the Jan 07, 2002 deadline.

Information on Passport Applications

a. To get a passport application form you must present:

• 2 passport sized colour photos
• original long form birth certificate
• original national ID

The photos are then stamped on the back by the official.

The queue for a passport form in Harare moves reasonably quickly. It forms outside the relevant window at the main passport office building at Makombe Building.

You do not need to arrive early in the morning to do this. Similarly, in other centres you do not have to join application queues simply to collect a passport form. Proceed to the passport office with the documents listed above to get a passport application form.

b. To submit a passport application, you must complete it in BLACK pen(!) and provide:

• 2 passport sized colour photos
• original long form birth certificate + 1 copy
• original national ID + 1 copy
• original form of renunciation of foreign citizenship + 1 copy
• original + 1 copy of each renunciation document from foreign country concerned
• old Zimbabwean passport

b.1. Harare
The passport office processes 200 applications/day.

Make sure you have completed your application form before you start this process as your documents are checked before you can proceed at all.

Make sure to have gone via the Citizenship Office - Room 100 to get your form endorsed showing that you have completed the renunciation procedure.

Step 1. Queue at the Harare St entrance to Makombe Building for a date on which you may return to submit your application form. People start queuing from early in the morning - approx 4-5am.

Step 2. Return on the due date and queue from early in the morning again. This is a different queue from that referenced in 1. above. You should be allocated a number which will be the sequence in which your application will be processed that day.

Business commences at 7.45am I believe.

Pensioners are allowed to avoid the queues detailed in Steps 1 & 2 above and should report to Room 8 after having collected and completed their p/p form and having been through the Citizenship Office at Room 100 if they have a foreign-born parent or were themselves born outside Zimbabwe.
Please note though that you can expect queues at both Room 100 & Room 8.

b.2. Marondera
The passport office processes 30 applications/day.

Make sure you have completed your application form before you start this process as your documents are checked before you can proceed at all.

Step 1. Queue at the boom to the passport office early (by 5am). You will be given a number by the security guard on duty. You can leave the queue and rejoin it a 7.45am in preparation for Step 2.

Step 2. Your documents will be checked (no applications with out of district residential addresses will be accepted) and if all is in order, you will be given a new number and asked to proceed to the passport office. No need to go through a citizenship office - just make sure you have all the documents detailed above.

b.3. Mutare
Room 27 of the passport office in 4th St(?) handles passport applications - no queues, make sure to take all documents listed above. No applications with out of district residential addresses will be accepted.

If you have corrections or additions to the above, please email me at nnap@kubatana.org.zw. Similarly, if you have experience of passport offices in different centres, please let me have the info.

Internet

This info is available on the internet at:
http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/arch_index.asp?sector=CIT

Best wishes
Brenda Burrell

Visit the CLG Fact sheet

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