Okay, guys, let’s talk about something that’s been on my mind lately – getting an ID card in Papua New Guinea. It’s not as straightforward as you might think, so I figured I’d share my experience and what I’ve learned along the way.
So, first off, I started digging around online and found out about the whole NID PNG thing – that’s the National Identity something or other for folks in Papua New Guinea. And then there’s this “Papua New Guinea Birth Identity Registration Form” which sounds pretty important, too.
I did a little more digging around and found that the place to go was the PNG Civil & Identity Registry, or PNG CIR for short. Apparently, they’re the ones who handle all the ID stuff in the country. They’ve got a website and an email, but I decided to go in person ’cause I had some questions.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. I heard about this company called Digizen PNG Limited that’s got their own ID card thing going on. And get this – they’ve even got a “priority printing service” that costs extra, like 40 bucks or something. Apparently, there’s a huge backlog of people waiting for their IDs and birth certificates, so this service is supposed to get your stuff done faster – within 10 working days. Can you believe it? Over 800,000 people are in line for their NID cards and 900,000 for birth certificate registrations!
I went down to their office in Waigani and asked around. I talked to a few people who were also there to get their IDs, and they told me some wild stories about how long they’d been waiting. It’s a real mess, folks.
Anyway, I filled out the forms, paid the fee for the priority service – fingers crossed it actually works – and now I’m playing the waiting game. They said it should be ready in about 10 working days, but who knows. I’ll keep you guys updated on how that goes.
Here are the steps I’ve followed:
- Discovered NID PNG online.
- Found out about the PNG Civil & Identity Registry (PNG CIR).
- Learned about Digizen PNG Limited and their priority printing service.
- Visited the PNG CIR office in Waigani.
- Filled out the necessary forms.
- Paid the K40 fee for priority service.
- Currently waiting for my ID card.
Honestly, the whole process has been a bit of a headache, but I guess that’s just how things are sometimes. If any of you have gone through this or have any tips to share, feel free to drop a comment below. We’re all in this together, right?
My thoughts
It’s a bit frustrating, to be honest. You’d think getting a simple ID card wouldn’t be such a big deal, but here we are. Hopefully, things will improve in the future, but for now, it’s just a waiting game. Anyway, stay tuned, and I’ll let you know when I finally get my hands on that ID card. Catch you guys later!