Not possible to get appointment from registry offices, citizens complain

Çetin Aydın / İSTANBUL

With Turkey returning to normal after days of strict COVID-19 restrictions, population registry offices are falling short of meeting the needs of people who have been waiting for months for their appointments to get their procedures done.

Population registry offices, where procedures for driver’s licenses, identity cards and passports are carried out, have become unable to operate adequately in meeting the demands of people as there has been a sudden increase in the number of citizens traveling abroad in line with gradual normalization.

Authorities point to the prolonged Eid al-Fitr holiday, the fact that coronavirus-contacted personnel have medical reports and that many personnel do not come to work due to flexible working days as the main reasons for the current density.

“This situation seems normal, considering the long holiday period, the fact that many personnel are on leave due to flexible working system, the opening of international flights and the increase in going abroad due to sports competitions,” an official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Those who could not get an appointment from population registry offices for their procedures are trying to make their voices heard through the complaints they make on websites.

While one citizen complained that she had urgently requested a passport but could not get an appointment for two weeks, another citizen noted that she had lost her identity card but could not get an appointment for days.

“I haven’t been able to get an appointment for a driver’s license for a month and a half. I’m calling, and they play music on the phone. There has to be a solution to this,” said a citizen named Nil.

“Citizens suffer a lot in this regard. There is no response to appointments made on the web indeed. It has been a week since I applied and I am still waiting for an appointment,” said Süleyman, another citizen.