Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am informed by the Registrar of the Civil Status that generally, once an applicant reaches the service counter, the processing time ranges from five to ten minutes, depending on the nature of the request. More complex requests may take between 15 and 20 minutes to process. However, there are a few instances where members of the public experienced longer waiting times. This situation is attributable to a shortage of staff, with 17 vacancies in the grade of Civil Status Officers. I am informed that action has already been taken to fill these 17 vacancies, and the interviews have already been completed. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Civil Status Division has digitalised its services to enable citizens to download electronic copies of birth and marriage certificates through the MoKloud application. However, the acceptance of QR-generated copies of birth and marriage certificates by banks, notaries and the Apostille section is subject to the specific requirements governing their respective functions. One such case is the Apostille of documents which, as per its requirement pursuant to Convention of 05 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, has to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears. Hence, QR-generated documents cannot be used at this point. To facilitate the wider acceptance of such electronic documents, my Office is currently examining the existing legal and operational frameworks, in consultations with the State Law Office.

Yes, the hon. First Member for Vacoas and Floréal! DOMAINE LES PAILLES – LAND LEASE-RELATED LEGAL ACTIONS – SMART CITY PROJECT ASSESSMENT