I REFER to the letter from Mr Eric Ling, headlined, 'Long wait proved fruitless' (South China Morning Post, July 29). Mr Ling was upset with the Immigration Department that he was unable to get included in the quota for its Tai Po office, on Saturday, July 15, after queueing in torrential rain for 21/2 hours. He wanted to get a BNO passport for his daughter. I can understand his annoyance, but he could have selected other methods of applying for the document, without having to stand outside the Tai Po office. For example, he could have used the telephone booking system to get into the quota. I know that the department provides five appointments for each time period in the day. He could have chosen the day that suited him best. He could have applied by post. It takes around 20 working days to process an application. I was surprised that Mr Ling had to wait outside for so long. As I understand it, people are allowed inside the building to queue, at around 8.10am. Also, at the entrance to the third floor of the immigration office, there is a white plastic board on the wall, which indicates the size of the quota for that particular day. ALISON SIU Tai Po
