Illustration of passport (Photo: Shutterstock)
Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Law and Human Rights launched a service which enables Indonesian passport applicants to reserve queue numbers via chat app WhatsApp. This service was simultaneously released and operated in 26 immigration offices that receive 150 passport applicants per day, such as in Greater Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Central Java.
"Starting today (Monday), applicants can book via WhatsApp," said the Class I Bogor Immigration Office head Herman Lukman at the Bogor Immigration Office on Monday.
Applicants who plan to get or renew their passport, can book a queue number by sending a WhatsApp message to Bogor Immigration Offices cellular number 081-1110-0333 using the format: #Name#date of birth(date-month-year)#date of visit( date-month-year); for example, #BUDI#25011987#14072017.
A barcode number will be sent as a reply message, in which applicants will need to reply it to get the queue number as well as the time and date to come to the office.
Applicants must arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled time and bring the required original documents. Those who came late will need to repeat the process to get the new booking number.
However, the new registration system was not intended for the service of replacing missing or damaged passport, according to Herman as he explained that it was only aimed to thwart middleman practices and trim long queue issues down.
(brl/red)
