The Immigration and Border Protection Service is calling the recent start of the ‘BTA Cat 1 Saturdays’ a success as the department was able to help about 600 persons with the processing of their permits.
On Saturday 20th July 2013 at 8:00 am the doors at the A.Th. Illidge road opened to a high volume of residents visiting the office to exchange their Category 1 permits for regular residency permits as a part of the final closure of the BTA system. Even though a great number of BTA Cat 1 clients arrived early in the morning at the doors of the IBPS, the personnel was able to organize and accommodate all the clients in an efficient way.
In total, 372 applicants have submitted their documents and are now registered at the Immigration & Border Protection Service. The balance of persons were able to receive information as well as pick up the requirement list. The IBP is satisfied that the majority of the clients were well informed of the requirements needed for the submission of their permits. Most applicants submitted a complete file.
This means that the information that the IBPS sent out, and the various meetings held with the representatives of the different communities, had paid off.
Immigration staff provided a smooth process for the residents with a focus on efficiency and customer service.