After Swaziland changed its name to Eswatini in 2018, the country's passports carried the new national name. In 2026, supply delays for passport booklets created a backlog, and the Ministry of Home Affairs accelerated travel-document production across its service centres. Reporting on the ministry's figures and guidance explicitly stated that priority queuing would continue for people with disabilities, senior citizens, frail applicants and heavily pregnant women.
The name change itself should not be blamed for the documented 2026 queue. The confirmed pressure came from a shortage of passport booklets and accumulated applications. Even after a country adopts a new name, applicants still encounter the concrete stages of stock, printing, verification and collection at the counter.
A priority queue shows that fairness does not always mean moving everyone at the same speed. People for whom standing is more difficult are served first while the order for other applicants is preserved. A national name can change in a day; producing and delivering every required passport still proceeds one person at a time.